


Genghis Khan

by EmbraceTheEccentric



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF, X-Ray & Vav (Cartoon)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Nothing explicit, Swearing, ignore season two, plot will develop i promise, will add more characters and relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2017-02-09
Packaged: 2018-07-13 21:43:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 39,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7138424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmbraceTheEccentric/pseuds/EmbraceTheEccentric
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>X-Ray and Vav have long been fighting the villainous Mad King but crime fighting isn't a 24/7 ordeal.</p><p>a.k.a. there aren't nearly enough raywood X-ray and Vav stories</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Time wise this happens after they beat Corpirate so ignore season two.

“I’m giving you one last chance Mad King!” X-Ray shouted at his adversary. “Surrender now, or we’ll be forced to use drastic measures.” His declaration echoed around the vast room, met with silence as the Mad King stared at the hero, his expression quizzical.

“I’m sorry, what?” the Mad King replied at last, breaking the silence. X-Ray gave a frustrated sigh.

“I said-”

“No no no,” He interrupted, holding up a hand. “I heard what you said. I’m just at a loss as to how you expect to do anything to me if you’re currently strapped to a table with a death ray aimed at your idiotic face.”

X-Ray stared cross eyed at the rod like contraption positioned an inch from his face. He followed the length of it to where it connected to massive metal body with a control panel full of buttons and levers. The Mad King currently stood by the control panel, his hand resting on a lever that X-Ray assumed would turn on the ray. The hero shrugged, the motion pulling at the leather straps holding him to the metal table he had woken up on after being knocked out by one of the Mad King’s goons.

“Wing it?” X-Ray suggested. He had no other option. With his hands tied he had no way of reaching his glasses. He and Vav had tracked some of the Mad King’s men to a warehouse outside the city. Upon arrival the two had split up to search the compound, a bad idea in X-Ray’s opinion seeing as how it had led to him being knocked out only to wake up in one of the warehouse’s empty office rooms strapped to a slanted table with death staring him in the face. His only hope at this point was to distract the Mad King long enough for Vav to find them.

“Well, instead of thinking about how you can 'wing it',” the Mad King made air quotes with his free hand. “Perhaps you could answer a very simple question for me.” X-Ray glared at him and the Mad King gave him a smug smile. “It’s not like you can do much else at the moment.” He reasoned. X-Ray pulled at his bindings again to no avail before sighing in defeat.

“Alright, shoot.” X-Ray tensed. “Wait no, don’t shoot. Please don’t shoot dude.” The Mad King chuckled and it made X-Ray pause for a moment. The chuckle didn’t sound evil…at all. Like, no hint of crazy in it. It sounded like a genuine laugh, something that would come from a friend after a good joke. And somehow that scared X-Ray even more.

The Mad King took his hand off the lever and began to pace around the machine and the table X-Ray was strapped to. He avoided eye contact, his hands clasped tightly behind him, and instead stared out one of the many large windows scattered on the walls of the room they were in. The adrenaline of being so near death must have been getting to X-Ray because he swore that the villain seemed almost nervous. The Mad King stopped his pacing right beside the table. X-Ray glanced over at him, unable to move his head, but the Mad King was still looking away. There was silence but before X-Ray could utter a smart remark his nemesis finally spoke.

“Would you like to have dinner…sometime,” the Mad King finally looked over and made eye contact with X-Ray. “…with me?”

X-Ray blinked and watched the Mad King’s face. The villain’s expression gave away nothing but genuine curiosity with a hint of what looked to be fear.

“Hold up,” X-Ray replied. “Maybe these glasses finally gave me mega cancer in my ears but did I just hear you ask me out on a date? You, the Mad fucking King just asked me out to dinner while your death ray is being pointed at my face.” He looked pointedly back at the ray for emphasis but his eyes darted back over when he heard the Mad King let out a disappointed sigh.

“Is that a no?” He asked, his tone that of a man facing defeat. X-Ray raised his eyebrows and glanced at the death ray again.

“Are you gonna shoot me if I say no?” He asked, looking back. The Mad King frowned as he looked at the giant metal contraption.

“I’ll admit the death ray is an unwanted pressure.” He reached up and plucked the cracked golden crown from his head. “I didn’t intend for it influence your answer.” With a grunt he threw the crown at the main control panel. The crown lodged itself in the panel, forcing the metal to cave. X-Ray listened to the sounds of the machine shutting down as its control panel sparked and hissed, smoke rising from the gaping hole that had been created. His eyes darted back over to the Mad King who was once again looking at him expectantly.

“So…what? If I say no you’ll just kill me anyway with a different weapon.” X-Ray argued. The Mad King simply shook his head and reached towards X-Ray’s face. The hero flinched but slowly relaxed when he realized the Mad King was just undoing the bindings keep his head strapped to the table. X-Ray stared at him as he worked trying to find some sort of tell in his features, some indication that this was all a joke or a taunt. “What’s you game plan here dude?” He finally asked when the Mad King finished undoing the bindings. “You seriously expect me to believe the Mad King wants to take his nemesis out to dinner?” The Mad King reached over and pushed the rod of the now demolished death ray away from X-Ray’s face.

“You’re overthinking this. Take the villain versus hero business out of the equation.” He implored. “Think of it more as the CEO of Monarch Labs asking a normal civilian out to dinner.”

 “You’ve gotta be kidding me.” X-Ray scoffed.

“I assure you I’m being completely serious.” The Mad King promised as he reached now over to undo the bindings keeping X-Ray’s legs strapped to the table.

“You could have just tied me up for that. Why the death ray?”

“This was all pretty spur of the moment.” The Mad King admitted with a shrug. “We were doing weapons testing in here and I could just as easily have captured your British partner instead of you.”

“I just-” X-Ray starts, pulling at his wrist bindings again. “Why?”

The Mad King began undoing the bindings at X-Ray’s wrists and shrugged. “I’m not the Mad King 24/7 just like how you’re not X-Ray 24/7. We each have a civilian side and just like many other people on this earth, the civilian side of me craves…intimacy.” He grimaced slightly, like his word choice wasn’t ideal but it would have to do. “The Mad King side of me lives to create chaos but the Ryan Haywood side of me…finds you very attractive and hopes you’ll agree to a date.” The last part was rushed, words tumbling quickly from his mouth. With his arms and legs freed X-Ray slowly slid off the table, the Mad King backing up to give him room.

“Ryan…Haywood?” He asked as he rubbed at his sore wrists.

“You could have gotten that name with minimal research.” The Mad King…no, _Ryan_ , claimed with a wave of his hand. “Prestigious CEO of Monarch Labs, face plastered on every official website, name found in a handful of published papers.” Ryan looked at X-Ray and could tell the hero was still very hesitant. He turned and held his hand out, his crown forcing itself out of the control panel and back to him. He snatched it from the air and placed it back onto his head. “Your answer won’t affect our villain-hero relationship. Whether you say yes or no I’ll let you go for now and we’ll continue our fighting another day.” He promised.

“But you hope I’ll say yes.” Ryan gave a slight nod and X-Ray pondered the situation, going back over the argument Ryan had given in his head when a certain sentence stuck with him. “Wait, you think I’m attractive?”

Ryan quickly turned his face the other way but it was slow enough for X-Ray to see the blush rising on his cheeks. Ryan coughed into his hand, clearing his throat, and began walking toward one of the large windows in the room.

“I suppose you could say I find your features very aesthetically pleasing to the point that they mask over the annoyance you evoke through your constant meddling in my business but…” He paused when he reached the window, undoing the latch to let the panes swing open. Cool night air flowed in and cleared away the stuffiness of the warehouse. He turned to face X-Ray. “Yes. I find you quite adorable.”

It was X-Ray’s turn to blush. Similar thoughts had certainly crossed his mind before but the thought of ever acting on them had always an impossible reality. At least, that’s what he had thought. But now his sworn nemesis was standing before him, a look of hope on his face gradually morphing into one of despair as X-Ray took longer and longer to answer him, asking him on a date. _A date._ Like they were awkward teenagers or friendly coworkers in an office. And X-Ray honestly had no idea how to respond.

 “Can I think about it? Is that an option?” X-Ray hesitantly asked. Ryan blinked, at a loss for words and in a state of shock that X-Ray had somewhat agreed. Well it wasn’t exactly an agreement but it wasn’t a no either.

“I…yes! Yes, yes of course!” Ryan quickly assured, a grin spreading across his face. X-Ray chuckled a bit at how excited the villain looked. If X-Ray didn’t know any better he’d think he was talking to a completely different person. The genuine happiness on Ryan’s face was a stark contrast to the looks of blood lust he had seen so often on the face of the Mad King.

“Then…I’ll think about.” X-Ray promised, rubbing at his wrists. A thought occurred to him. “But I’m gonna tell Vav, that’s a definite. We don’t keep shit from each other.” Ryan gave a slight nod, accepting the decision like it was something he had already expected.

“Understandable.” He agreed. X-Ray tensed as Ryan put a hand inside his suit jacket but all he pulled out was a simple black card. He offered it to X-Ray who reached out and took it. Turning it over in his hands he realized it was a business card of sorts but with only a number printed in gold ink on one side. “Call or text that number when you’ve made your decision.”

“Okay…so I guess….we go our separate ways now?” X-Ray asked, taking a step towards the open doorway of the room. He needed to go find Vav and make sure he was okay. Ryan may be giving him a free pass here but that didn’t mean that his men knew to leave Vav alone.

“Yes. Regardless of your answer, I’ll likely see you next week.” Ryan answered as he stepped up onto the ledge of the open window. X-Ray frowned.

“What’s next week?” He asked. Ryan looked over his shoulder at him.

“I’m not sure yet. Maybe I’ll rob a bank…or just blow it up, it’s not like I need the money.” Ryan mused, his Mad King side showing itself as Ryan’s eyes lit up with a manic excitement.

“You weren’t kidding about the chaos thing, were you?”

“I never kid, X-ray.” Ryan assured with a smile. X-Ray chuckled.

“Right, and uh, Mad K-” He stopped himself and took a breath. “Ryan?” He tried again. Ryan looked over his shoulder at him. “My civilian side is Ray, by the way.” He confessed. Ryan smiled.

“Ray.” Ryan repeated and nodded like he approved of the name. “I look forward to hearing from you Ray.” With one final wave he took a step out of the window and fell from sight. Ray rushed over to the window and peered out only to see the villain had been caught by some sort of levitating platform and was already speeding away into the night. Ray let out the breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. He looked down at the card in his hand for a moment before tucking it the utility belt he and Vav now preferred wearing on missions. He gave one last look out the window, Ryan now just a speck on the horizon, before hurrying out the room.

 

* * *

 

 

_Gotta find Vav. Gotta find Vav. Gotta find Vav._

Ray sprinted through the warehouse on the search for his partner. After checking at least half of the main rooms and finding them empty he could only assume that all of the Mad King’s goons had left when their leader took off.

At least, that’s what Ray hoped.

“Gavin! Where the hell are you!?” He took a risk and shouted. His voice echoed and bounced off the rusting walls of the warehouse. Silence embraced him as he stood still and listened for a response. After a few moments he took another breath, prepared to try shouting again, when Gavin finally appeared.

“X-Ray!” Ray’s head snapped up to see the blue and red clad superhero leaning over the railing of a catwalk up above. The brit was glaring daggers at him, clearly displeased. “What are you doing using my real name, you donut?”

“To be fair I just shouted a name. You were the one to say it was yours.” Ray argued. “Now get down here, I need to tell you something.”

Gavin climbed over the railing and jumped down, the thirty foot drop made possible by the upgrades Hilda had made to their boots. High powered shock absorbers were one of many perks Hilda added to their suits aside from the utility belts. Gavin landed with a soft thump, dust on the warehouse floor billowing out in a cloud around him.

“I think all of the Mad King’s men are gone.” Gavin reported as he walked over to Ray, eyes scanning the visible walk-ways of the warehouse. “They just started high tailing it out of here for some reason. I slow-moed a couple of them but they’re gone too. Where’d you end up anyway?” He turned his attention to Ray who had been fidgeting where he stood. “Did you catch anyone?”

“Not exactly.” Ray admitted, his face heating up again when he thought about where he had been, the conversation he had just had. “The Mad King caught me. I was tied down with a death ray aimed at my face.”

“Wot?!” Gavin’s voice cracked as he looked Ray over, concern clear in his face. “Are you alright? How did you escape?”

“That’s the thing.” Ray started. “He, uh…he sort of let me go.” He muttered the last part but Gavin still heard him.

“He _let you go_?” Gavin asked in disbelief. Ray just nodded. “Why the hell would he just let you go?” Ray shrugged and looked away, not wanting to look Gavin in the eyes for what he was about to say.

“Because he wants to take me out to dinner.” He answered softly. He expected Gavin to erupt in a chorus of panicked squawks at the news but there was nothing but silence. Ray looked back at his partner to see him staring back with a blank expression. Gavin blinked.

“You’re completely mental.”

“Gavin-” Ray sighed. He had expected this. As compliant and spontaneous as Gavin was there was no way he would just accept something like this at face value.

“Did the Mad King do something to your head?” Gavin grabbed Ray’s head and brought it down to look for scars or cuts. “Did he stick something in your brain? Maybe he-”

“He didn't do anything to me.” Ray argued, pulling away and taking a step back.

“You said he pointed a bloody death ray at you!” Gavin flailed his arms for emphasis while Ray's remained crossed in defiance.

“Yeah but then he destroyed it, let me go, and asked me out to dinner.” Ray pulled the business card from his belt and showed it to Gavin. “He said to contact him with this.”

“Wait, you didn’t answer him?” Gavin asked. Ray shrugged and put the card away.

“It’s a lot to take in all at once. He’s a villain, we fight him at least every other week. I shouldn’t be going on a date with him but…” Ray trailed off. _But what?_

 Their first encounter with the Mad King wasn’t exactly the best one and it certainly wasn’t something that encouraged a peaceful relationship. They had to rescue ORF and facing off against a villain they had never met before who was also Hilda’s boss made the severity of the situation high. But X-Ray had quickly realized this wasn’t like the movies where one bad guy gets defeated and goes down for good. After that first fight it was clear that, despite beating the Mad King, apparently the villain was here to stay. After defeating Corpirate he and Vav continued fighting as two of the city’s most well-known heroes, taking down robbers and crooks alike. But it only took a few weeks before they faced off against the Mad King again. Their encounters became regular, happening nearly every week. And each time X-Ray and the Mad King managed to get into a sort of battle of quips as they exchanged banter between blows. He couldn’t deny that he considered the Mad King to be attractive and his mesmerizing icy blue eyes always managed to distract him. But he could never act on those feelings. X-Ray was a hero and the Mad King was a villain, one of the worst. But now he wasn't just the Mad King, he was Ryan. He was Ryan and he asked Ray out to dinner and goddammit Ray wanted to say yes.

“What do you think I should do?” He finally asked Gavin who was still looking at him like he just announced he was going to set his Xbox on fire

“I think you’re daft.” Came Gavin’s answer and Ray looked down in shame. Gavin sighed. “But whatever you decide I’ll support you. You know that right?” Ray’s head snapped back up and he watched as Gavin gave him a small, reassuring smile. Ray smiled back.

“Yeah.” He agreed. He and Gavin began to make their way out of the warehouse.

“Just out of curiosity, what _have_ you decided?” Gavin questioned. Ray thought for a moment before realizing he had already made up his mind long ago.

“YOLO, right?”

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the lovely comments and kudos! It means so much to me.
> 
> This chapter is pretty heavy on the background info but since I'm jumping right from season 1 and ignoring season 2 some things need to be explained and resolved in order to move on with the story.

What had gotten him to this point?

Ray stared at his reflection in the mirror in his room and wondered how exactly fate or whatever the fuck had control over his life had brought him to this exact moment.

After reporting back to Hilda that they weren’t able to retrieve anything of use from the warehouse, which was technically not a lie, Ray and Gavin had returned to their apartment. Their own apartment.

When they defeated Corpirate the mayor had asked them for a private meeting. He thanked each of them, including Hilda and Rusty, for their service but maintained that nameless vigilantes could be just as troublesome as the villains they fought. In return for telling him their civilian identities the mayor gifted them with a few perks. Revealing their names, and only to their mayor and his most trusted advisors, was a small price to pay for a furnished apartment in the middle of the city and private access to government files for investigative purposes.

When they returned from the warehouse Gavin had asked for the fiftieth time that night if Ray was okay and when Ray assured him, once again, that he was, he bid him a goodnight and retired to his room.

Ray had stood at the end of his bed staring back and forth at his X-Ray suit laid out before him and his phone clutched in his hand for hours after that, deciding sleep was for the weak that night. The decision had been made, he wanted to say yes and he was sure of that, but for whatever reason it had taken him hours just to type the damn number into his phone. His mind was still caught at some moral crossroad at the prospect of accepting Ryan’s offer.

By the time he managed to send a simple

**_“Okay.”_ **

over text the sun was already starting to rise and light was peeking through his window blinds. He told himself a text was practical since Ryan was probably asleep at that hour like a normal person but in reality he highly doubted he’d be able to even get a word out if he tried to call instead.

It turned out Ryan was either up all night like Ray or the guy seriously needed to rethink his sleep schedule because his response was immediate. Ray’s phone vibrated with a new text reading

**_“Wonderful. I’ll send you details soon.”_ **

Ray couldn’t deny the wide grin plastered on his face and he could only be thankful for the fact that Gavin was asleep and couldn’t see him smiling like an idiot.

That afternoon there was a knock on their apartment door. When Ray paused their Halo match and went to answer it he found himself face to face with a woman wearing a clean cut skirt suit, her bright red hair pinned up in a neat bun. She greeted Ray with a smile and wordlessly handed over a box she held in her hands. Ray hesitantly took the box but before he could say a word the woman turned and left, heels clicking on the floor as she walked back down the hall to the apartment’s elevator.

Ray shut the door, very much confused, and looked down at the parcel in his arms. On top of the box rested a single blood red rose and a note card reading,

_I’m delighted that you agreed. Be ready at 6:30 on Friday.  I’ll send a car for you._

_\- Ryan_

Gavin abandoned his controller and made his way over to his partner just as Ray opened the box and let out a distressed groan of despair at the sight of its contents.

Now Ray stood in front of his floor length mirror glaring at his reflection and cursing Ryan’s gorgeous face for forcing him into the fabric prison he was currently wearing.

“Well don’t you look posh.” Ray jumped at the sound of Gavin’s voice as it broke through his clouded thoughts. He looked away from the mirror to see the brit casually leaning against the doorway of his room, arms crossed and a smirk on his face. Ray looked back to the mirror and wrapped a black silk tie around the upturned collar of his dress shirt. He was wearing a three piece suit, the jacket to which was currently lying on his bed.

“I hate suits. They feel so restricting.” Ray complained as he tried and failed to tie a Windsor Knot. Gavin snorted and took a step into the room.

“We wear skin tight armored spandex all the time.” Gavin reasoned, sitting down on Ray’s bed. “How is this any worse thanthat?”

“Hey, that shit hugs me in all the right places.” Ray argued with a smile. His fingers fumbled with the tie as he tried wrapping it one way, only to start over when he realized he was still doing it wrong.

“So where’s the Mad King taking you?” Gavin asked, picking up the suit jacket beside him. Ray sighed and glanced over at Gavin.

“I told you his name. Why won’t you call him Ryan?” Ray complained.

“If I call him Ryan he becomes a civilian. I’m not gonna just ignore the fact that you’re going out with one of the worst villains in this city. If I see him as Ryan I let my guard down and-” Gavin took a breath to ground himself. “and I just can’t afford to lose you to this.” His voice came out broken and laced with fear, the calm façade he had been putting forth until then breaking apart. Ray abandoned his attempts with the tie and looked over at Gavin. His partner was looking down forlornly at the suit jacket in his hands. Ray moved to sit down next to him on the bed and bumped their shoulders together.

“I get it. I do.” Ray promised him. He knew he was taking a major risk with this. Despite how sincere Ryan had sounded and acted when he asked Ray to dinner, the fact remained that he was still the Mad King and all of this could be a trap. A very unnecessarily elaborate trap, but a trap none the less. Ray understood this which was why he’d be wearing his x-ray specs to dinner but there was always room for something to go wrong. He looked over at the nightstand by his bed where the rose rested in a vase of water. “I just…I want to try.” He looked back at Gavin and held up his fist. “X-Ray and Vav?” He asked wanting to know he could still count on his friend for support. Gavin looked up and gave a small smile.

“X-Ray and Vav.” He swore and bumped Ray’s fist with his own. “Always.” Ray grinned and stood again, turning his attention back to his tie.

“He didn’t tell me where we were going.” Ray confessed, answering Gavin’s earlier question. “He just gave me the suit and told me someone would be by to pick me up.”

“He’s not even picking you up himself?” Gavin scoffed. “That’s a load of bull, I wanted to talk to him before you go.”

“Maybe that’s why he’s sending someone else.” Ray suggested with a smirk.

“I’m a step away from asking Miss Hilda for spy equipment to keep tabs on him.” Gavin flopped back on the bed, spreading his arms out. “Speaking of which, have you told her about this?” Gavin glanced over and watched as Ray shook his head no. He sat back up. “Are you planning on…” Ray looked away and began to fiddle with the tie again. Gavin sighed. “Ray-”

“How the hell do you think she’d react to this, Gavin?” Ray shot back. “Ryan stole ORF from her and fucked with him. He’s her boss and while it’s great she got her job back, she’d fucking lose it if she found out I’m having dinner with the guy.”

“Well you can’t just keep this from her. We work with her, she’s part of the team.” Gavin argued. Ray was still struggling with the tie so Gavin batted his hands away and took over. “She’s clever. She’ll find out eventually whether you tell her or not. And I can’t imagine she’d be happy to hear it from anyone but you or me.”

“This is all very _very_ new. I’d prefer it if we told Hilda when we actually know…what we are to each other.” Ray muttered, a light blush dusting his cheeks. Gavin finished with the tie, smoothing it out.

“Alright.” Gavin agreed as Ray took a step back to button his vest over the tie. “Then we’ll wait. But Hilda’s a smart woman, Ray. She’ll find out eventually.” Gavin handed him the suit jacket and Ray slipped it on, turning to look at himself in the mirror one last time. Gavin got off the bed and stood behind him, peering over his shoulder so they could both see his reflection. “You look top, X-Ray.”

“Thanks Vav.” Gavin started to brush off invisible lint from Ray’s shoulder when a knock at their door made them both jump. Ray checked the time and saw it was 6:30 on the dot.

“Now if you’re not back by midnight,” Gavin began as the two walked out of Ray’s room and towards the front door. “And you don’t answer my call then I’m hunting that bastard down and shoving that crown of his up his ass.”

“I have a curfew now?” Ray questioned with a laugh.

“Damn right you have a curfew.”

Ray looked through the peephole of their front door to see a short, stout looking man with a trimmed beard on the other side. Ray opened the door and smiled in greeting. The man smiled back, a wide sincere grin, and held out his hand to shake which Ray took.

“Good evening. I’m here to escort you to your date with Mr. Haywood.” His voice bright but deep, matching the contrast of his cherry attitude and solid frame.

“Name?” Gavin cut in before Ray could say anything in response. The man looked caught off guard at the request but quickly composed himself.

“Jeremy.” He answered “Jeremy Dooley.”

“What do you do?”

“Gav, come on.” Ray groaned shooting an apologetic look towards Jeremy. However the man seemed more than happy to answer Gavin’s questions.

“I’m employed as a chauffeur and a bodyguard for Mr. Haywood.”

“But you’re so short.” Gavin argued.

“Gavin!”

Jeremy just laughed. “It’s fine. I get that a lot. Are you ready to go?” he asked, addressing Ray. Ray patted his pockets, checking for all his things before nodding in confirmation.

“One last question.” Gavin demanded before Ray could follow Jeremy out the door. “A million dollars, but-”

Ray stepped out of the apartment and slammed the door on Gavin’s face. The brit’s muffled laughter could be heard all the way to the elevator as Ray and Jeremy left the building.

* * *

 Ray grew more and more anxious the longer he was in the car with Jeremy. Every time they passed a restaurant, entertainment hall, or social club Ray waited to see if Jeremy would slow down, if that was their stop. He made small talk with the small chauffeur, learning he gamed quite frequently. By the time the car came to a stop in front of a large ornate building Ray had saved Jeremy’s gamer tag in his phone to look up later.

Ray peeked out the window and looked up at the large gold letters decorating the front of the building, looping French cursive spelling out the name of one of the most extravagant restaurants in the city.

In front of the restaurant stood Ryan, dressed in a suit similar to his. Jeremy came around and opened Ray’s door as Ryan walked over and held out his hand to help him out. Ray took it and stepped out onto the sidewalk, giving Jeremy a parting wave as the man got back into the car once Ryan had dismissed him.

“You look breathtaking.” Ryan professed. He let go of Ray’s hand and offered his arm instead and together they entered the restaurant. The host recognized Ryan immediately and with a polite bow he walked them to their table, a private area in a corner of the restaurant.

“I’m not exactly a fan of suits but I can see why you had me wear one.” Ray acknowledged. “Then again, I’m not exactly a fan of fancy restaurants either.” He felt Ryan tense at the confession and he realized his comment made it sound like he didn’t want to be there. “But it’s fine! It’s great actually. I’ve heard this place is hard to get into.” He resolved quickly. Ray felt Ryan relax and was happy to see the man grinning when he looked up at him.

“Well, when you know the right people…” Ryan confessed. He glanced at Ray, gauging his reactions. “Did you like the rose?” He asked as they approached the table.

“Yeah, it’s my favorite flower actually.” Ryan pulled out Ray’s seat for him and Ray sat with a smile and blush.

“Noted.” He took his seat across from Ray. “I apologize for not being able to pick you up. Projects often run late in the labs and-”

“You were avoiding Gavin, weren’t you?” Ryan’s mouth hung open in surprise before he closed it and gave Ray an impressed smile.

“So that’s your partner’s name.” Ryan mused. He rested his elbows on the table, hands linking together for his chin to rest on as he regarded Ray with evident curiosity. “You two aren’t all that great at aliases, they sound very close to your names.”

“Fuck you.” Ray spat with a laugh. “Not all of us are pompous enough to pull off the name _Mad King_.”

“Oh, I’m _pompous_ am I?” Ryan asked, an amused grin settling on his face at seeing Ray fall easily into the back and forth banter the two often shared.

“Please.” Ray scoffed. “Do I need to record you during fights now to prove it or-”

“Sorry to interrupt you gentlemen.” Ray was cut off as a man wearing a black waistcoat and bow tie walked up their table and set down menus in front of them. “My name is Chris, I’ll be your waiter for the evening. Wonderful to see you again Mr. Haywood, as always.” He said, turning slightly to address Ryan. Ryan gave a polite nod of his head in response. “Can I start you off with something to drink?” Chris held out an open drink menu listing the beers, wines, and various liquors the restaurant offered.

“Would you like some wine? I’ve heard they have a wonderful Cabernet Sauvignon here.” Ryan suggested as he took the wine list from the server. Ray grimaced before offering an apologetic smile.

“I don’t drink actually.” He admitted. Ryan looked up from studying the wine list, eyes wide with surprise.

“Well then.” Ray looked over at Chris. The server had an amused smirk on his face as he observed Ray. “Seems as though you’ve found yourself quite the match Mr. Haywood.”

“Indeed.” Ryan agreed as he snapped the drink menu shut and handed it back to Chris. Ryan smiled at Ray who could only stare back confused.

“The usual diet coke then.” Chris confirmed before he turned towards Ray. “And for you, sir?”

“Uh, do you have Dr. Pepper?” Ray asked, still a bit confused at the turn of events.

“We do. I’ll be right out with those.” Chris promised with a curt bow before leaving Ray and Ryan alone. Ray looked at Ryan who was still grinning at him. Ray’s brow furrowed as he waited for an explanation.

“I don’t drink either.” Ryan answered Ray’s unspoken question. “I’ve come here often with coworkers and clients and the wait staff has taken notice that I never order alcohol.” Chris returned with their drinks, comically served in crystal wine glasses, and left them once more so they could look over their menus. Ryan raised his glass and when he didn’t take a sip, Ray took the hint and raised his as well.

“I know I’ve said it before, but I’m truly thankful you’re giving this a chance. I admit this is bizarre and will no doubt take time to get used to. However, our civilian sides deserve some form of happiness in the midst of all the fighting, don’t you agree?” Ray nodded and Ryan’s grin grew wider. “To us.” He declared, moving to clink his glass with Ray’s.

“To us.”

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

“I’ve been wondering something.” Ray said after another sip from his drink. They had ordered not long ago, Ray letting Ryan decide what to get seeing as how he had been to the restaurant numerous times before and knew what was good. Thankfully he had ordered simple, not delving into the obscurities of French cuisine that Ray had a feeling were likely on the menu. He had never eaten snails and he had no intention of changing that anytime soon.

“Oh?” Ryan responded simply. His attention never drifted from Ray, he had barely looked away when the server came for their orders. His bright blue eyes captured Ray in a trance, their normal intensity fueled more by excitement than their regular madness.

“How are you still CEO?” Ray finally asked. “Who the hell is letting a villain run a major corporation like Monarch Labs?”

After their dealings with Corpirate they hadn’t expected to see the Mad King again, let alone learn that he was still head of Monarch Labs. That bit of news had come to them from a frantic and fuming Hilda after she had returned to her lab only to be visited by the manic villain for a performance review. She had immediately aimed one of her nearby rays at him, threatening to call the authorities, all while he laughed at her reaction and merely told her that pointing a weapon at her boss wouldn’t be in her best interest.

“No one knows I’m the Mad King.” Ryan explained with a superfluous wave of his hand. Ray stared at him.

“Say what.”

Ryan gave a small chuckle at Ray’s deadpanned response. They paused for a moment as the server returned with their meals and expressed their thanks. Ryan watched as he walked away before turning back to Ray, unfolding his napkin with an elegant flourish and placing it on his lap.

“Ray, neither you nor Vav wear masks whilst saving the city yet how many people know of your true identities?” Ryan began, picking up his silverware. He cut into his steak and Ray eyed the bright red interior of the meat. The Mad King prefers his steak rare.

How shocking.

“Only a few.” Ray finally answered as he turned his attention towards his own dinner, some chicken dish Ryan had insisted he’d enjoy. He took a bite and realized Ryan was more than just a mad genius, he was incredibly intuitive. The food was amazing, the spices reminding Ray of the Puerto Rican dishes his mom cooked when he was a kid.

“And why is that?” Ryan asked. “Why aren’t people knocking on your front door asking for an autograph or stopping you on the street for a picture?” Ryan brought a piece of steak to his mouth and paused. “Or rather, why haven’t your enemies managed to track you down and kill you in your sleep?”

Ray choked on the piece of chicken he had just eaten, caught off guard at the sudden change in tone from Ryan. He looked at him but the villain just sat there nonchalantly chewing on his steak and awaiting Ray’s answer. Ray took another sip of soda to clear his throat and shrugged.

“Our suits give of this weird distortion wave that screws with video and images of us. We can’t be recorded.” Ray explained. “Don’t ask me how it works though, I have no fucking clue. So for the most part only people that see us face to face know what we look like and even then, we keep a pretty low profile most of the time.” Ray had to admit they’d been pretty lucky so far. There was rarely ever clear footage of them and they could blend into civilian background pretty seamlessly.

“Interesting.” Ryan mused. “Well I employ a similar tactic. I developed a recognition program that’s constantly running and blocking images of me that show up on television, the internet, people’s phones, you name it. Unless it comes from a pre-approved source it gets deleted.” Ryan paused again and Ray watched as a confident smirk grew on his face. “And if anything slips through the cracks, well, let’s just say I have friends in high places.” Ray let out a breath.

“Holy shit.” Was his response. Ryan grinned.

“Impressed?” Ryan asked, clearly hoping he was amazing the lad with his tactics.

“You’re a fucking computer geek, aren’t you?” Ray scoffed as he turned back to his chicken. Ryan blinked.

“I’m the CEO of a corporation that specializes in technological advancements so yes, I’m a computer geek.” He reluctantly agreed. “Who do you think makes all of my weapons?” Ray shrugged.

“I figured you just had your employees do it.” Ray didn’t believe all of Monarch Labs was corrupt despite their corporate board so far being comprised of villains. Monarch Labs was the leading provider of new technology that greatly benefited hospitals, universities, and government agencies. Hilda was evidence enough that it wasn’t a completely immoral company. But surely Ryan had a few lackeys laying around.

“I don’t like my business spreading too much throughout the company.” Ryan explained. “Besides, only a handful of the people I employ would be capable enough to work on my projects.” Ray hummed and thought for a moment.

“So you made your crown then?” He asked thinking of the cracked metal death trap that had winded him during their first encounter. Ryan narrowed his eyes and smiled.

“What makes you think that’s technology?” He asked teasingly as he leaned forwards on the table closer to Ray. Ray mimicked his facial expression and leaned forward as well so their faces were mere inches apart.

“Because I doubt you’re fucking Magneto.” He shot back. Ryan met his stare for a few moments before laughing and leaning back in his seat, Ray doing the same. Ryan put down his fork and knife and held up one of his hands.

“Sensors in my hand connected to implants in my brain.” He explained as he circled a finger around his palm and then around his temple. “Whatever action I think of, my crown obeys with a wave of my hand.” He held his hand out for Ray to look at closer. Ray took it in his own and ran his fingers across the surface noticing small ivory scars, purposefully scattered in different places.

“Are the sensors in your hand like magnets?” Ray asked. He looked up to see Ryan watching him intently, a glimmer of affection in his eyes. Ray quickly let go of the hand, picking up his silverware as his cheeks flushed.

“If they were magnets they’d be ripped out of my hand trying to attract my crown from across the city.” Ryan answered. “But it’s a similar concept.” He admitted. He was beginning to realize the hero across from him was cleverer than he originally thought. He grasped concepts, he had ideas, he just thought about everything a little differently than Ryan did.

Ray beamed when his thought was acknowledged and it made Ryan happy he had brought the lad joy. From then conversation flowed easily between the two of them, switching back and forth between anecdotes from their civilian sides and their superhero/villain sides.

It turned out, between building death rays and blowing up banks, Ryan found time to game nearly as often as Ray did. His Gamerscore definitely wasn’t as high, Ray made sure to assert his superiority in that regard, but it was common ground.

They quickly realized there was far more to each of them then their aliases and fighting. They had lives before they began this life, they had friends and family and interests. They still had all of these things.

And because of that, so much could go wrong.

“How exactly is this gonna work?” Ray asked suddenly. Ryan had just been telling a story from his time at college when someone had called the police on them because their drone testing for an engineering class seemed to be ‘highly suspicious’.

Ryan’s arms slowly came down from where they had been waving about in the air. He talked with his hands a lot. Ray loved watching him fall deep into a story. Ryan gave a small smile of reassurance.

“Believe me, it’s possible.” He guaranteed.

“But won’t, you know, feelings and stuff get in the way? If we’re in a life or death situation and one of us has the upper hand…” He trailed off, not wanting to think about that kind of situation. Ryan sighed.

“Life or death situation…maybe.” He admitted. “But normal villain-hero interactions can still continue. It’s not as if you’re the only hero in this city and I’m certainly not the only villain. We won’t always be fighting each other and when we do, we’ll just ignore our civilian sides. Throw a few punches, toss around some witty banter, and in the end we go our separate ways like always.”

“And what? I go home, take off the suit, and call you up to ask you how your day was?” Ray asked, still skeptical.

“Villains and heroes can maintain healthy relationships separate from their work. It’s been done before.” Ray frowned.

“What do you mean it’s been done before?”

“You remember Corpirate, yes?”

Ray stared at his glass and played with the rim of it, running a finger along the edge. “Super buff pirate in a suit, tried to take over the city a while back,” He looked up and met Ryan’s eyes. “You helped him.”

“The Mad King helped him.” Ryan corrected. “And it was a mistake.”

“What do you mean it was a mistake?” Ryan let out a breath and shrugged.

“The Mad King’s main desire is to reign supreme over a chaotic mass of subjects.” He explained. Ray snorted.

“That’s a nice goal you got there. Got a Pinterest board for it?” Ryan let out a dry chuckle.

“He likes to see panic and destruction and fear.” He continued. “What Corpirate did was create a complacent horde of zombies to do his bidding.” Ryan shrugged again. “It was no fun.”

“But what does Corpirate even have to do with a hero and villain being in a relationship? Was he with a hero?”

“No. However he has a younger brother, one that will be taking over his corporate position since they managed to legally keep the company within the family. And his brother’s involved in the family business in more than one way.” Ray groaned.

“Don’t tell me.”

“He’s a villain.” Ryan confirmed with a laugh. “Goes by the name Kingpin.” Ray sat up in his seat at the name.

“Kingpin? You mean the guy who flew around in that green Iron Man type suit?” Ryan nodded. “I’ve heard of him but I thought he died years ago.”

“On the contrary, he married a hero.” Ryan clarified. “They even have a child now, a daughter.”

“No fucking way. Who’d he marry?” Ray asked in disbelief.

“Madame Chainsaw.”

“No fucking way! She’s a legend!” Ray’s eyes lit up with childish excitement. Madame Chainsaw, the renowned blade wielding vigilante, hadn’t been heard from for years. She was known for being beautifully dangerous and dangerously beautiful. “So Kingpin’s taking over the corporation that oversees Monarch Labs?” Ryan nodded.

“They’re moving to the city for it. I’m actually much better friends with Kingpin than I ever was with Corpirate. I can introduce you to them.” Ray’s jaw dropped.

“I get to meet Madame Chainsaw?”

“If you’d like to.” Ryan replied with a smile. Ray let out a breath.

“Dude, she’s a goddess. I might faint, not even kidding.” Ryan grinned, happy to see Ray in a much brighter mood again.

“I know you have doubts about this…” He’s gestures between the two of them. “And that’s understandable. But they’re a perfect example of how it can still work out. They still fought as a villain and a hero when they were dating and engaged. Last I heard, the only reason they retired was for the safety of their daughter.”

“Huh.” Ray nodded to himself for a moment. “Alright so…it can work.”

“You’re still uneasy.” Ryan spoke sensing a hint of hesitance in Ray’s tone.

“It’s just…weird, you know? I can’t imagine myself going out to the movies with you one night and blasting you with my x-ray specs the next.”

“I doubt you’ll ever manage to hit me.” Ryan answered as he took a sip of his drink. Ray glared at him.

“Not the point Ryan.” The conversation between them died as the server came to clear their plates. He waited until he left before he continued. “You’re telling me you have no issues with any of this.”

“It’s not that I don’t have issues.” Ryan acknowledged. “Becoming involved with one another can certainly have possible…consequences in the future. But for now, I’m willing to try it.” That hint of fear was back in his voice and his face, the same anxiety Ray had seen when Ryan had first asked him to dinner. He didn’t want this to end. “If keeping our work lives and person lives separate is too overbearing then I’m sure we can come to a mutual, peaceful agreement to end it.”

“Sure, sure.” Ray agreed. “Or it could end horribly with one or both of us ending up dead or worse.”

“Worse than dead?” Ryan asked.

“It’s not just us involved in this.” Ray reminded him. “The people around us can become collateral damage and I’m not interested in sending Vav to his death just because I can’t control my dick.”

“He knows you’re here.” Ryan pointed out. “You talked it over with him.”

“Yeah but that’s because he trusts me, we trust each other. I don’t want him getting pushed to the side or hurt because of my choices. Or Hilda or anyone else.” Ryan’s eyes glinted with familiarity at the mention of Hilda.

“Ah yes, you’re friends with what’s her face.” He mused. Ray let out a snort.

“I literally just said her name. Why’d you call her “what’s her face” again?” Ryan smirked.

“I only do it because I know it bothers her.” He revealed. “I’m her boss, of course I know her name. And ever since she became involved in your hero business I’ve made it a habit to keep tabs on her and her projects. She’s become quite the nuisance at Monarch Labs. Thankfully she’s stopped trying to convince the board I’m a villain.”

“Well you did fuck with her best friend.” Ray reminded him. Ryan snorted.

“She needs to get out more if her best friend is a robot.” Ray gave him a warning look and Ryan held up his hands in surrender. “I know you care about them. By extension I don’t want to see them hurt either. But you can’t live your entire life worrying about others.” He reached across the table and took Ray’s hands in his. “You need to do something that makes you happy every once in a while.”

Ray looked down at their hands and twisted his own so their fingers interlocked. This could blow up in their faces, it could go horribly wrong, end in a million different horrible ways.

But it could also lead to something amazing and Ray was holding onto that like his life depended on it.

“Fuck it.” He decided, the far from eloquent declaration making Ryan grin and laugh. “Let’s do this.”

Ryan kept one of Ray’s hands in his own when the server once again returned to ask if they’d like dessert. Despite Ryan’s encouragement, Ray was adamant in politely refusing the suggestion of the restaurant’s excellent selection of cakes. They decided instead to skip dessert all together, Ryan handing over a card to the server before Ray could even act.

“I asked you out to dinner.” Ryan justified. “I couldn’t possibly expect you to pay.” The server returned with the card and a receipt for Ryan to sign.

“Might I suggest a night cap back at my apartment?” Ryan recommended as he stood and offered his arm for Ray to take. Ray stood as well and took Ryan’s arm with a small smile and the two made their way out of the restaurant. He looked up at Ryan only to see he was already looking down at him, a mischievous smirk gracing his features. Ryan looked away as he led Ray out to the front of the restaurant to where a sleek black Lotus Elise was parked with a valet standing next to it, holding out a key for Ryan to take.

“Neither of us drink.” Ray reminded him with a snicker. Ryan glanced at him again.

“I’m aware.”

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I CAN'T WRITE SMUT SO I DIDN'T WRITE SMUT so sorry if you were hoping for that
> 
> I gave Ryan a kinda angsty backstory instead have fun with that

A hesitant kiss at the front door.

Rough pressure on his lips as Ryan became more confident.

A sharp gasp as he was pinned against the wall.

Fingers gripping his hips so hard he _knows_ there’ll be bruises.

Deep growls and moans and hands and teeth.

And now Ray, laid out on Ryan’s obnoxiously comfortable bed, stared up at the ceiling as he tried to control his erratic breathing. Marks and bites littered his torso, wrapping around his thighs and throat. The Mad King was a biter.

 _How shocking_.

Ray let his eyes fall shut as he let out a breath.

“I just fucked the Mad King.” He muttered, raw throat making his voice crack.

“Well technically the Mad King fucked _you_.” Came Ryan’s voice beside him. Ray opened his eyes and turned his head to look at him. The gent was sat up in bed, sheets pooling around his waist as he leaned against the headboard of the bed. His hand rested on the pillow beside him, fingers casually playing with curls of Ray’s hair. “And it’s Ryan. How could you forget, you were just screaming it a little while ago.” Ryan joked with a grin. When Ray just stared back, not returning the smile, Ryan’s grin fell. “Do you…regret what we just did?” He asked, pulling his hand away now worried that Ray didn’t want it there. Ray sat up a bit, quickly shaking his head as he grabbed Ryan’s hand and pulled it back to him.

“I…no, I just-” Ray trailed off and looked down at Ryan’s hand. He turned it so their fingers interlocked like they did at the restaurant. “This is gonna be a thing now, isn’t it.” He spoke softly. Ryan’s hand tightened and he pulled Ray towards him. Ray sat up and leaned against the headboard with him, Ryan’s arm reaching around his waist and pulling him close.  “Like, we’re doing a…thing now.”

“I believe the word you’re looking for is relationship.” Ryan supplied. Ray gave a small nod.

“Yep, that’s it. You just said it. The thing.” He rambled on trying to grasp the concept, force his brain to accept it.

“I do admit things are progressing quite fast but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.” Ryan’s fingers skimmed along the side of Ray’s torso as he studied the hero’s reactions. “Right?”

Ray turned his head and looked at him, looked at the maniacal villain he had been fighting for weeks. The man who, when they first met, said he’d tear off his arms and use them to applaud his demise. The man who was currently looking like a scared puppy the way he was staring at Ray, waiting for an answer.

“You’re a really timid guy, you know that?” Ray observed. Ryan tilted his head, caught off guard at the accusation.

“What do you mean?” He asked. Ray shrugged and took the hand Ryan had resting on his thigh. He played with his fingers and Ryan let him.

“Every step of the way you’ve been asking me if I’m okay, taking baby steps.” Ray explained. He paused for a second and remembered where they were at the moment. “Not that this was a baby step.” He acknowledged as he let go of Ryan’s hand and moved to lay down again. “But you’re acting completely different than you do when we’re fighting.”

“Is that a bad thing? Do you not like it?” Ray snorted and looked up at Ryan who was staring down at him anxiously.

“See, there you go again. You sound so unsure of yourself.” He pointed out. He reached up and poked the tip of Ryan’s nose, making the villain go cross-eyed as he watched. “You looked nervous as shit when you asked me out.” Ray recalled which made Ryan blush and push his hand away. “And you smile now too, and laugh! Like, not a crazy “my favorite hobby is murder” type of laugh.” Ryan smiled and Ray mimicked him, matching the grin. “It’s nice, it really is. I love it, but it’s like you’re a completely different person.” Ryan exhaled and shrugged.

“It’s because I am, in a way.” He considered as he laid down beside Ray in the bed, his arm reaching over to snake around Ray and pull him close. Ray turned on his side and leaned his head against Ryan’s chest, hugging his own arm around Ryan.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t…freak out about this.” There was different kind of fear laced in Ryan’s voice. It was more serious, graver than before. It made Ray freeze and look up at Ryan.

“Holy shit, wait. Let me guess.” Ray reached up and gripped Ryan’s face with both his hands, forcing them to lock eyes. Ryan’s fear turned to confusion as he awaited Ray’s speculation. Ray schooled his features and took his time studying Ryan’s features. “You have a secret double life as super villain.”

Ryan frowned and pulled his face away from Ray’s grip as the younger laughed and fell back onto his side of the bed. Ryan folded his arms and glared at the ceiling.

“Alright, maybe I won’t tell you.” He grumbled petulantly. Ray attempted to stifle his laughter as he turned back to the villain.

“No no no!” He protested as he crawled on top of Ryan, straddling his hips. “Tell me, please.” Ryan looked up at him and reached up to grip Ray’s waist, skimming his fingers over the exposed skin of his thigh that peeked out from beneath the sheet he was wrapped in. He was still frowning so Ray flashed an apologetic smile before leaning down and placing a soft kiss to his lips. He pulled away, Ryan chasing his lips, but kept their faces close together. “You can trust me.” Ray whispered.

Ray felt the grip on his thigh and waist tighten and he thought about what he just said. Could he really claim that? Ryan had no more reason to trust Ray than Ray had to trust Ryan. However, the promise was apparently enough for Ryan. The man sighed and gently pushed Ray off of his lap. Ray stayed close, hugging Ryan’s torso so the older man couldn’t push him away. Ryan tucked Ray’s head against his shoulder and returned to running his fingers through Ray’s hair.

“You know how I always refer to the Mad King as another person?” Ray thought back for a moment and remembered their conversation at the restaurant. He had accused Ryan of helping Corpirate and Ryan had corrected him saying the Mad King helped Corpirate. The Mad King loves chaos. The Mad King wants to rule the city. Ryan never spoke in the first person like Ray and Gavin did when discussing their other lives.

“Yeah.”

“The Mad King isn’t to me what X-Ray is to you or Vav is to Gavin. He’s not just an alias.” Silence fell between them, Ray waiting for Ryan to expand. Ryan seemed to be struggling, not wanting to say more so Ray took the hand that was resting on Ryan’s chest and held it in his own. Ryan gave Ray’s hand a squeeze and let out a breath. “The Mad King is what happens when a little too much of the crazy seeps through the cracks.” Ray frowned.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Ryan gave a dry, throaty laugh.

“I’m a little unhinged Ray.”

“You don’t say.” Ray drawled. Ryan tapped a warning finger on Ray’s head that made the hero chuckle. Ray gave Ryan’s hand a squeeze to tell him to continue.

“My sanity works like a seesaw. If I want to become the Mad King I let more of the madness come through. It makes me a different person. When I’m normal, acting as CEO or interacting with you as I am now, I push away the madness and lock it up in my mind.” Ryan paused, taking in a shaky breath. He let go of Ray’s hand and ran his own through his hair, tugging at the strands. Ray could tell he was starting to panic and trying to keep it in check for Ray’s sake. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Nothing’s diagnosed because I’m afraid that if I go to a doctor they’ll force me on medication.”

“What would be wrong with medication?” Ray questioned. “Maybe it could help you keep him in check.”

Ryan stopped tugging at his hair and looked at Ray, shock clear on his face. He hadn’t expected Ray to believe him but the lad was already referring to the Mad King as a separate person.

“I don’t think it will.” Ryan replied. “I don’t drink or use any heavy medication because if my mind clouds and I’m not concentrating on keeping him locked away then he fights for control. If too much of the madness takes over then I wouldn’t have control over any of my actions. It would be all him and that’s not something I want to unleash on anyone.”

“Wait, so we haven’t seen the Mad King at 100%?” Ray asked. The Mad King that he and Vav had been facing off against had seemed plenty insane and certainly far from Ryan in regards to personality. Ryan snorted at the question.

“Certainly not. You’d be dealing with a psychopath.”

“How is that any different from what we’ve been dealing with?” Ray asked. Ryan’s fingers stopped running through his hair so Ray craned his neck to properly see him. Ryan wasn’t looking at him, his eyes instead fixated on the ceiling above him. “Ry-”

“The Mad King has no remorse for the loss of innocent life. He wouldn’t set off a minor explosion in a bank just to see people panic. He’d lock the doors and set the place on fire just to see them burn.” Ray froze, staring wide eyed as Ryan glanced over at him, his icy blue eyes unnervingly dark. Ray pulled away, returning to his side of the bed. Ryan let him go, making no move to pull him back.

“Holy shit.” Ray murmured. He watched Ryan for a moment before carefully reaching out and poking his side, making Ryan jolt and involuntarily release a small peal of laughter. “Don’t look so depressed. It’s a bad look for you.”

“Ray-”

“So you’re like Jekyll and Hyde.” Ray quickly offered to move the conversation forward. Ryan sighed and gave Ray a sad but grateful smile.

“That’s a good way of putting it.” He commended with a nod. Ray scooted closer and wrapped around him again, hiding a smile when Ryan let him. Ryan sighed. “I don’t like him, Ray. He’s brash and cruel and doesn’t feel.” He paused and let out a chuckle. “I’m not saying I’m a model citizen either, but it’s difficult managing the madness so letting a little bit of it slip through every once in a while makes things…easier.”

“So that’s why you’re a villain.” Ray guessed as he tangled their legs together beneath the sheets. Ryan nodded.

“I highly doubt causing mass panic and building weapons of destruction are choice attributes of a hero.” Ryan rationalized. “Although you seem to cause as much damage as I do sometimes.”

“That’s accidental.” Ray argued, playfully whacking Ryan’s chest. “We don’t blow shit up on purpose.” Ryan shifted in bed and Ray rolled onto his back again. Ryan hovered above him, leaning on one of his elbows as he cupped Ray’s cheek with the other hand.

“I promise you, I’m in control of it. The last time he took over completely was when I was much younger and I didn’t know how to fight back.” Ryan leaned down and placed a soft kiss to Ray's forehead, his nose, and finally to his lips. The intimacy of the action made Ray blush profusely. He wanted to turn away but Ryan held him in place. “I promise he won’t hurt you.” Ryan swore.

“Would he recognize me?” Ray asked, voice quiet. “If you were completely gone, would he know who I am?” Ryan’s thumb gently stroked Ray’s cheek.

“I won’t let him touch you.” He answered. Ray noticed he didn’t really answer the question, instead just reiterated his promise. Ray frowned and opened his mouth to question it when the tense atmosphere was suddenly shattered by loud twinkling music and a muffled buzzing. Ryan pulled away and looked around the room.

"Is that the theme from Mario?” He asked in disbelief, a smile growing on his face.

“That’s just my phone.” Ray sighed, pulling Ryan back towards him. He froze. “Oh shit, wait. Grab it, it’s probably Gavin.” He ordered quickly. Ryan slipped out of bed and snatched Ray’s dress pants up from the floor, searching the pockets until he pulled out the ringing device. Instead of handing it over, Ray watched as he swiped his thumb across the screen to answer it.

 “What are you-”

“Ray! Where the hell are you, dinner doesn’t take this long.” Gavin’s cracking voice rang out from the speakers on the phone. Ryan smirked and walked back over to the bed, holding the phone out of reach when Ray moved to grab it.

“He’s perfectly fine.” Ryan answered, his tone cool and collected. The same voice he used when he was in Mad King mode. But Ray could see it in his face, in his eyes. He was playing with Gavin. There was a beat of silence on the other end.

“Mad King.” Came Gavin’s voice, a determined edge to it. Ryan smiled knowing he had Gavin on a hook.

“Vav.” Ryan greeted in response.

“What did you do to him?” Ryan looked at Ray, his eyes hungrily following the length of the lad’s body, bites and bruises barely covered by the sheets of the bed.

“I’m not sure you want to hear about the details.” Ryan advised with a wink. Ray rolled his eyes and held his hand out for the phone.

“Stop messing with him.” Ray warned him. A squawk erupted from the phone at the sound of Ray’s voice.

“X-Ray, you bloody lunatic! I told you to be home by midnight.” Gavin shouted forcing Ray to hold the phone at arms-length as he winced. He looked over when he heard Ryan snickering to himself.

“Are you Cinderella now?” Ryan playfully taunted. Ray shot him a warning look.

“Shut up. Gavin, I’m fine. I’m sorry I didn’t text you or anything.” He pleaded with his friend. He heard Gavin sigh.

“Where are you?”

“Uh, Ryan’s apartment?” There was silence on the other end so Ray elaborated. “In Ryan’s room.” More silence. “In Ryan’s bed.”

“Am I interrupting something?” Gavin finally spoke, discomfort clear in his voice.

“Yes.” Ryan answered as he sat back down on the bed. Ray smacked his arm as the villain tried to hold back laughter.

“Shut up! No, no you’re not.” Ray quickly promised.

“Alright well, uh…Congrats I guess.” Ryan’s chuckling erupted into boisterous laughter as Ray cringed, his eyes screwing shut and his face flushing a deep red.

“Gavin, did you want something or can we end this horrible call?” He desperately asked. He picked up one of the pillows and hit Ryan with it, the man easily catching the pillow and pulling it away.

“When are you gonna be back?”

“I…don’t know, I-” Ray admitted, looking at Ryan for an answer. Ryan replaced the pillow and shrugged.

“Stay the night. I’ll make breakfast.” He suggested. “Gavin’s invited too.”

“What are you making?” Gavin questioned. Ryan thought for a moment.

“Pancakes.” Ryan decided. Ray heard Gavin give a snort of disbelief.

“Poison pancakes more like.” Gavin grumbled. Ryan shrugged, his expression thoughtful.

“I was thinking chocolate chip but if you prefer cyanide I’m sure I can arrange something.”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Ray cut in before the two could begin to bicker. “Goodnight Gavin.”

“Be safe. Use protect-” Ray cut him off and ended the call fast but before he could toss the phone off to the side, Ryan took it from him.

 “What are you doing?” Ray asked as he watched Ryan go searching through his apps.

“Sending him my address.” He answered. Ray watched as he pulled up Gavin’s contact and sent a quick message before tossing the phone gently back on the floor. When he turned back towards Ray he found the hero smiling at him. “What?” Ryan asked.

Ray surged forward and drew Ryan in for a searing kiss. Ryan let out a noise of surprise before kissing back with equal passion. Ryan grabbed at his waist to pull him closer and pushed them both back down onto the bed, pinning Ray beneath him. Ryan pulled away for a breath and looked down to see Ray still smiling, a flush to his cheeks now.

“Thank you.” Ray spoke, voice soft as he looped his arms around Ryan’s neck.

“For what?” Ryan questioned as he buried his face in the crook of Ray’s neck, kissing and biting his way down Ray’s throat.

“For indulging him.” Came Ray’s answer, voice shakier than before. He felt Ryan’s lips curve into a smile against his throat. Ray gave a small whine as Ryan pulled away and propped himself up on his elbows so he hovered just above him.

“I’ve met Vav but I have to meet Gavin eventually.” He reasoned. “No day better than the present.” He placed one more kiss on Ray’s lips before turning around to switch off the light by his bed. Ray wrapped around him again, a position he found himself enjoying more and more, as Ryan pulled him close. Ray let out a breath and felt his eyes slip shut. Oh yeah.

This could definitely work.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are amazing, your comments are so sweet and encouraging and I might start actually responding to some of them. I'd respond to all of them if I could but it would literally just be a constant stream of thank you's. Just know that every time I see a new comment, I squeal and smile uncontrollably. If anyone has a question I'd be happy to answer it though.

Ray stirred beneath the sheets, his eyelids squeezing tighter shut as the morning sun threatened to blind him. He turned on his side in bed but his mind made note of the lack of Ryan’s arms around him. His eyes reluctantly opened a crack and he turned back to see the other side of the bed empty. Ray sat up and rubbed at his eyes, wincing at the dull pain settling in his hips.

Blinking at the brightness he turned to see the morning sun bright in the sky through the large floor to ceiling windows making up one of the walls of Ryan’s room. He distantly recalled the windows being heavily tinted when they had first stumbled into the room the night before.

The room was empty but Ray could hear muffled noises coming from elsewhere in Ryan’s apartment. His eyes scanned the floor of the room, searching for his phone. Spotting it he reached down and plucked it up, the screen lighting up with a number of messages from Gavin.

 

**_Omw [sent at 9:46]_ **

-

**_Think im here. You 2 better not be shagging [sent at 10:02]_ **

-

**_Wake up. I cant handle your boyfriend on my own [sent at 10:07]_ **

-

**_Ray come on hes making murder jokes [sent at 10:13]_ **

Ray squinted at the messages, tossing the phone elsewhere in the bed when he knew he got the gist of it. He grabbed his glasses from the nightstand by the bed and slipped them on. Looking around the room he took note of certain details that he hadn’t seen before. It’s not like he had time to study the Ryan’s interior decorating skills with him pressed up against him.

It was very crisp and clean cut, neutral gray walls displaying generic paintings but no photographs. Everything was in order, fit for military inspection save for the few articles of clothing strewn about. Ray thought about moving to grab his boxers and one of their shirts to wear when he noticed a pile of fabrics at the edge of the bed.

He crawled forward to inspect them and found a simple cotton shirt and plaid pajama bottoms folded neatly. Picking up the shirt he found it to be his size, same with the pants. With a quick search he found his boxers and put on the rest of the clothes.

Tugging the shirt over his head, Ray did a double take as his eyes finally adjusted to the brightness of the rising sun and he was able to see the view from Ryan’s apartment. Taking a few steps closer to the window he sucked in a breath at the sight of the gleaming city stretched out before him. Gavin’s and his apartment was in a decent location but nothing compared to seeing the shining buildings silhouetted by the rising sun on the horizon.

Ray shook his head. His mind was wandering into poetry territory, never a good thing. His head snapped towards the door as he heard crashing pans forcing him to finally wander out of the room and follow the sounds towards Ryan’s kitchen.

“It’s efficient.” Ray heard Ryan’s deep voice as he peeked around the corner to see Ryan standing by the stove, a pan in one hand and a spatula in the other. Gavin was leaning against the counter in the middle of the kitchen, arms crossed and thankfully devoid of weapons or armor as far as Ray could see.

“It’s an accident waiting to happen is what it is.” Gavin responded. “You couldn’t even go out in public.”

“Depends how well you hide it.” Ryan argued as he flipped a pancake. Ray took a step into the kitchen.

“Hide what?” He asked as breathed in the warm scent of fresh pancakes and bacon. Gavin looked startled for a moment before recovering and launching himself at Ray, a wide grin plastered on his face.

“There you are boi!” Gavin exclaimed, wrapping his arms tightly around Ray. “I was starting to think you were gonna sleep the day away.” Ray chuckled and hugged Gavin back, looking over his shoulder at Ryan who was watching the exchange with an amused smirk as he transferred pancakes onto a platter.

“The sun woke me up.” Ray complained as he pulled away from Gavin and made his way over to Ryan.

“The tint on the windows works on an automatic timer.” Ryan explained as he leaned down to place a kiss on Ray’s forehead. “Good morning.” He greeted, ignoring Gavin’s gagging sounds behind him.

“Morning” Ray responded. “So what are you hiding?” He questioned again as he snagged a piece of bacon from the pile.

“A machete.” Ryan answered as he poured more batter onto the pan. “Permanently attached to your hand.”

Ray’s chewing slowed as he looked back at Gavin for answers. The brit was grinning smugly around a mug of coffee held to his lips.

“He answers my ‘million dollars but…’ questions.” Came Gavin’s answer. Ray looked back at Ryan now. The man looked up and shrugged at Ray’s questioning look.

“They’re interesting thoughts.” He reasoned as he handed a plate stacked high with pancakes and bacon over to Ray which Ray handed over to Gavin.

“Well I’m just glad you haven’t killed each other yet.” Ray admitted, taking the next plate Ryan offered him with a smile. “I’m proud.” Going up on his toes he placed a kiss to Ryan’s smiling lips, once again ignoring Gavin’s gagging sounds. Ray walked over and joined Gavin at the granite island in the middle of the kitchen, taking a seat on one of the stools surrounding it.

Ray and Gavin dug into the food, Ryan joining them a minute later once the stove was turned off and he had fixed up a plate. The pancakes were delicious, and a quick scan of the kitchen counter filled with ingredients told Ray they had even been made from scratch.

“These are amazing.” Gavin voiced Ray’s thoughts, albeit around a mouth full of food as he tore through the stack, drowning each bite in syrup and butter. Ray looked over at Ryan to see the man staring at Gavin, a vague hint of disgust in his features. Ray chuckled and went to turn back to his food before he heard Gavin make a small noise of confusion.

“Where’d you get those, X-Ray?” Gavin asked, having thankfully swallowed his mouthful. Ray frowned in confusion so Gavin gestured with his fork, waving it around Ray’s torso and then his legs. “The clothes. They’re not yours.” His eyes glanced over at Ryan, looking him up and down. “And they’re too small to be his.” He concluded, nodding his head in Ryan’s direction. Ray looked down at his clothes and tugged at the collar of the shirt.

“They were on the bed.” Ray supplied, looking to Ryan for a better explanation than his.

“I had them delivered for Ray.” Came Ryan’s simple answer as he took another bite of his pancakes. “As much as I’d enjoy seeing you walking around in nothing more than boxers, I figured you’d appreciate an option.” He winked at Ray, making him blush.

“They fit well.” Gavin observed, taking a sip of coffee. Ray looked around the kitchen for the source of the coffee before Ryan stood and turned towards a coffee maker that had been hidden behind him. He poured two cups and handed Ray one along with cream from the counter.

“They’re great.” Ray agreed as he took the mug with a quiet thanks. “Perfect actually. How do you keep getting my size right?” Ray wondered, thinking about the well-tailored suit that had been sent to him as well. Ryan froze in the middle of a sip of coffee and looked at the two heroes before him who were staring back and waiting for an answer. Ryan swallowed the drink and slowly placed his mug back on the counter, carefully considering his reply.

“I scanned you.” He finally spoke. Gavin choked on the piece of bacon he had just stuffed in his mouth, quickly reaching for his drink.

“You did what?!” Gavin shouted. Ryan looked surprisingly ashamed, shooting Ray an apologetic look.

“I scanned you.” Ryan repeated. “I used CCTV footage from around the city and ran it through an analytics program that determined your sizing.” Ray and Gavin sat in a stunned silence, blinking at Ryan who was now looking down at his plate and pushing food around with his fork.

“You creepy little-” Ray clamped a hand over Gavin’s mouth before he could start and sent a small reassuring smile towards Ryan.

“Next time,” Ray spoke gently, Ryan looking back up at him. “Just ask me for details like that.”

“Sorry.” Ryan muttered as Ray released Gavin’s face, the man sputtering and shooting Ray a mild glare.

“Analytics program, huh?” Gavin questioned, shoveling more food into his mouth. “You make that?”

“He makes all of his personal tech.” Ray supplied, smiling as he saw Ryan beam at the recognition of his skills. Gavin waved his fork in Ryan’s direction.

“What else you got?” Gavin asked.

“Digging for secrets, Vav?” Ryan jestingly asked. Gavin choked on his food again, stammering and tripping over his words to quickly defend himself. Ryan began to laugh as Ray nudged Gavin with his elbow.

“He’s just joking.” Ray pointed out under his breath.

“Yeah, I could do with less of that thanks.” Gavin grumbled, clearing his throat with more coffee. The two watched as Ryan cleared his throat and squared his shoulders, and they both sat up straighter in anticipation.

“EDGAR, greet our guests please.” Ryan requested in an authoritative tone. Ray frowned and glanced at Gavin who looked equally as confused.

“Good morning Gavin and Ray.” Came a deep male voice seemingly from nowhere and from everywhere, echoing around the kitchen, making Gavin and Ray jump a bit in their seats. “And good morning to you as well, sir.”

“Thank you EDGAR” Ryan replied with a smile. Ray huffed out a laugh and sent a questioning look Ryan’s way.

“What the hell is that?” Ray asked, awe clear in his voice. Ryan smiled, excitement lighting up his crystal blue eyes.

“ _That_ would be EDGAR, my personal AI.” Ryan answered. He nodded towards Gavin. “You asked me what else I’ve made. EDGAR is my greatest creation.”

“I’m flattered, sir.” The voice spoke again.

“Edgar though?” Gavin asked, his eyes flitting around the room in search of speakers or any technical indication of the AI’s presence. “Why Edgar?”

“Efficiently Directed Guarded Autonomous Robot.” Ryan answered. Gavin looked back at him with narrowed eyes and a skeptical smirk.

“That’s a horrible name.” He criticized. Ryan sighed and gave a slight nod.

“I will admit, I came up with the name first and the technical title afterwards.” He shrugged. “I had a cat named Edgar as a child. I was feeling sentimental when I created him.”

“It’s a wonderful title, sir.” EDGAR commended.

“He sounds very natural.” Ray noted. “Not stiff like Siri or something.”

“EDGAR’s been around for a while. He learns from being around people and shifting through the internet in his spare time.”

“Oh yeah?” Gavin’s smile grew mischievous. “Find anything fun on the internet EDGAR?” Ray watched Ryan roll his eyes at Gavin’s childish suggestion, but he didn’t look concerned or make any attempt to cancel the command.

“I’ve found twenty seven pictures from an album titled “Gavin’s 21st birthday”. Shall I display them on all synced devices, sir?” EDGAR responded. Gavin squawked as Ray doubled over laughing, quickly realizing Ryan’s AI had already searched out blackmail on Gavin.

“No thank you EDGAR but could you please save a copy of that file and store it for later use?” Ryan asked, a taunting smirk gracing his lips as he watched Gavin panic in his seat. Ray picked his head up from where it was resting on the counter and composed himself long enough to shoot Ryan a somewhat serious look. Ryan’s smirk faltered and he rolled his eyes again, muttering under his breath something about taking orders from heroes. “Nevermind EDGAR, don’t save the file.”

“Very good, sir.” EDGAR responded. “Is there anything else?”

“Daily report.” Ryan decided after a moment of thought. He gestured between Gavin and Ray’s mugs, an unspoken question hung in the air, and the two nodded.

“Today’s weather calls for partly cloudy skies, with a high of 82°F and a low of 59°F.” EDGAR relayed as Ryan stood with all of their mugs to fetch more coffee. Gavin and Ray half listened as EDGAR went on to report on the state of the stock market, international news, and other current events with Ryan nodding and occasionally chiming in with the request for more information on a particular subject as he jotted down notes on a nearby notepad.

Ryan returned with the coffee and his notepad. Ray accepted his mug with a smile and was pleased to hear Gavin mumble a sincere thank you when Ryan handed him his. Gavin began adding cream and sugar to his coffee and saw Ray watching him out of the corner of his eye. Gavin turned to face his partner to see him triumphantly grinning.

“What?” Gavin asked, stirring his drink. Ray shook his head and took a sip of his own drink.

“Nothing.” He murmured, still grinning. “You were polite.” Gavin grimaced at the acknowledgment, already regretting that he had let his guard down even slightly and been kind towards someone he only had reason to consider an enemy. Their attention was brought back to EDGAR’s report when a familiar name came up.

“You asked me to remind you,” EDGAR continued. “That you wished to visit Monarch Labs today to follow up on the progress of project #425-CR in Dr. Thompson’s lab.” Ryan winced, setting his coffee back down on the counter as he continued to scribble on his notepad.

“That’s right, I did want to do that.” Ryan murmured, his eyes scanning the messy writing on the pad.

“That’s fine.” Ray assured him, causing Ryan to look back up at them, blinking in a disoriented way like he was just reminded he wasn’t alone in his kitchen. “I’ll just head home with Gavin so you can go.”

“No!” Ryan quickly blurted, resulting in a wary look from Gavin surprised one from Ray. “I mean, I don’t have to go to the lab now and it wouldn’t take long. I can drop you off at home later when I swing by to do it.”

Ray glanced at Gavin to gauge his friend’s opinion on the suggestion. Gavin shrugged and took one last swig of his coffee, cringing at the mouthful of dregs.

“Fine by me.” He allowed. “But if you’re not back before dark I’m grabbing every weapon Hilda has to offer and knocking down your door.” He threatened, giving Ryan a pointed look.

“So many fucking curfews.” Ray muttered. “What would you even tell Hilda? _The Mad King has X-Ray he’s holding him hostage but they also might be fucking, who knows?_ ” Ray mocked, using a terrible British accent to mimic his friend.

“Does she know, by the way?” Ryan cut in. The heroes turned to face him and the villain seemed a tad uncomfortable to have each of them staring so intently at him. “About us, I mean.”

“Uh, no.” Ray answered carefully, glancing at Gavin. “I thought it’d be better to just tell Gavin for now.”

“Oh thank God.” Ryan let out a breath. “Yeah, no it’s better not to tell her. Good call.”

“You agree?” Gavin spoke, a quick glance at Ray telling him his friend was equally as surprised.

“You said it yourself.” Ryan pointed out. “I stole her stupid robot. She has a personal vendetta against me and she’s your friend.” He paused. “And weapon supplier.” He added after a moment.

“You two have to tell her eventually.” Gavin maintained.

“And we will.” Ray quickly promised. “We will.” He repeated, locking eyes with Ryan. “But maybe before that happens we try and get her and Ryan on slightly better terms.” Ryan opened his mouth to argue but quickly snapped it shut at the heated glare Ray sent his way. Ryan sighed and grudgingly nodded in agreement. Gavin looked between the two of them before sighing and holding up his hands in surrender.

“Alright. It’s up to you two.” He conceded as he slipped from his seat and walked out of the kitchen towards Ryan’s front door, Ryan and Ray following him. “I’m gonna head out. Hopefully no one towed my bike.” Gavin grabbed his helmet from a table by the front door. He turned on his heel and faced Ryan, squaring his shoulders and schooling his features in an attempt to put as much authority as he could into his lanky frame. He gripped the helmet in one hand and held out the other to Ryan which he took.

“Be good to him.” Gavin ordered, giving Ryan’s hand a firm shake.

“Of course.” Came Ryan’s answer. Gavin let go of Ryan’s hand and held out a fist towards Ray.

“See you tonight, X-Ray.” Gavin said with a crooked grin as Ray bumped his fist and nodded.

With one last mildly intimidating look towards Ryan, Gavin turned and left the apartment, Ryan softly shutting the door behind him. Ryan leaned his back against the door and let out a sigh, his eyes slipping shut.

“That went well.” Ray told him, reaching up and looping his arms around Ryan’s neck. Ryan opened his eyes and stared down at him, his hands coming up to rest on Ray’s hips. “How should we celebrate?” Ryan hummed in thought, smiling softly at Ray.

“Call of Duty and more sex?” Ryan suggested at last. Ray grinned.

“A man after my own heart.”

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be starting to shadow a doctor soon so i'm not too sure how it will affect the update schedule but I'll try and get new chapters out to you as soon as I can. Thanks again for all your lovely messages!

“What do you think Miss Hilda’s made for us this time?” Gavin wondered aloud, bouncing on his toes to the beat of the muffled muzak in the elevator. Ray shrugged, hands stuffed in the pockets of his hoodie as he stared out the glass walls of the elevator, watching as the people in the lobby of Monarch Labs became smaller and smaller.

“Hopefully some upgrades. My specs have been glitching.” Ray mused. He tapped the side of his glasses, using the zoom feature Hilda had added to get a closer look at the people down below. He wondered for a moment if he’d see Ryan walking among them.

It had been a little over a week since the first date and not a day had gone by that he hadn’t been exposed to Ryan in some way. If they weren’t spending time together in person, they were texting or calling or talking over Xbox live while playing together. On top of this, Ryan would always be sending gifts to Ray through his many couriers.

First came his suit from dinner, dry cleaned and followed by a text from Ryan insisting that Ray keep it for the future. Then came a bouquet of roses, a sign Ryan remembered Ray’s mentioning of how he loved the flower. But it escalated from there with messengers showing up with more and more expensive gifts like watches and new games, even a car showing up one day with the carrier holding its keys.

Ray was adamant in sending these gifts back, calling Ryan each time and reminding him that he didn’t have to send such expensive things to show his affection as well as mentioning that he didn’t even know how to drive a car, only bikes.

But the gifts still came and Ray’s flustered responses to them quickly devolved into exasperation. Gavin on the other hand was more than happy to accept the gifts when they were food or games. Gavin actually seemed to grow more comfortable with the idea of Ryan being in their lives, even going so far as to play on Xbox live with him when Ray wasn’t even around.

Aside from that, their relationship had been progressing better than Ray could have ever hoped. It often overwhelmed him when he thought about how involved they had become with each other in only a week’s time. The rush of emotions Ray was now permitted to feel for a man he had had a stupid, school girl crush for was a source of both relief and anxiety.

But they made it work.

Ryan followed through with his promise to cause chaos at one of the local banks that week, an emergency that called for the action of X-Ray and Vav. Their first fight together after they had begun dating filled Ray with a fear he had never felt before but it was quickly subdued when he realized how simple it was to still keep up the appearance of the hero versus the villain.

They had arrived at the aftermath of a minor explosion, one that caused a scattering of panicked citizens that were observed from above by the Mad King as he laughed his maniacal laugh. When X-Ray and Vav had arrived on site he fled, leaving the heroes to round up frightened citizens and free anyone trapped beneath the rubble.

No casualties. No life or death decisions. No problem.

That night Ryan called Ray up, asked if he had suffered any injuries, and proceeded to invited him over for a movie night. For the first time since the whole ordeal had begun, Ray finally started to feel confident in their ability to actually maintain a relationship.

“We’re here.” Gavin spoke, nudging Ray and pulling him from his thoughts. Ray’s head snapped over to see the doors of the elevator had opened up to Hilda’s floor. He and Gavin walked out and down the hall to her lab, the automatic doors opening to let them in.

“Greetings X-Ray and Vav!” A twinkling robotic voice rang out as the two entered the lab. ORF floated over to them, a wide grin on its face.

“Hey there little buddy.” Gavin greeted, tapping ORF’s screen with his finger.

“There you two are!” The pair looked over and saw Hilda. The engineer was tinkering at one of her lab stations, multicolored wires clutched in her hands. “I’m so happy to see you guys.”

“Aw.” Gavin gushed at the rare instance of affection coming from the normally apathetic scientist. “It’s nice to see-”

“I need to you to test some things. Just a warning, they might cause mild electrocution.” Hilda cut him off as she moved on to another table cluttered with various pieces of equipment. Gavin’s shoulders sagged as he was reminded they were often viewed more as lab rats to Hilda. Ray chuckled and clapped a supportive hand on his shoulder, dragging the pouting man over to Hilda.

“Sounds good.” Ray said, inwardly cringing as he watched Hilda inspect a particular metal contraption with manic glee. “But before you send us to the hospital, could you take a look at my glasses? They’ve been bugging out lately.”

“How so?” Hilda asked, looking up from the piece of tech in her hands. She looked somewhat concerned, but Ray had a feeling the concern was more for her invention than for the person wearing it.

“The info they usually give me has been showing up all jumbled or just isn’t there at all.” He explained, taking off his glasses for Hilda to inspect. Once she took them he pulled a glasses case from the pocket of his hoodie, pulling out his normal glasses so he could see.

“Sounds like the software’s not keeping up with the influx of analytics.” Hilda guessed, turning the glasses around in her hands. She put them on her face, eyes squinting as she watched the chaotic lettering flash across the lenses. “Let me just fit it with a new chip.”

Hilda took the glasses off and turned to walk over to the large collection of monitors in her lab when something caught her eye and made her stop.

“Hey, X-Ray?” She spoke carefully. Ray looked up from where he and Gavin were looking at the random tech assortment on the lab bench.

“Yeah?”

“Is that a hicky on your neck?” Hilda asked, pointing at his throat as a smirk grew on her face. Ray’s quickly reached up to place a hand over the area of his throat she was pointing at, a blush rapidly spreading on his face.

“Uh…” He stammered out, glancing at Gavin with a pleading look in his eye. His partner could do nothing but shrug and watch Hilda cautiously. Hilda’s smirk grew into an impish grin.

“Holy shit, you’re seeing someone?” She asked in disbelief, crossing her arms and taking a step towards Ray as she craned her neck in search for more hickies and bites.

“Uh…” Ray repeated, not able to get a single word out as his mind raced a mile a minute trying to come up with an explanation. Hilda glanced at Gavin and saw that the brit didn’t seem at all surprised at there being a hicky on Ray’s neck.

“Did _you_ know?” Hilda asked him, her grin faltering. Gavin shrugged and gave a slight nod but said nothing more. Hilda’s gaze flitted between the two of them. “Why didn’t you tell me?” She asked, her tone sounding offended as her grin turned to a pout.

“Well…” Ray began, finally finding his voice as an explanation formed in his mind. “We’re not really telling anyone right now. I wanna protect them….and all that.” That’s a heroic thing to do, right? Not exactly a lie so the guilt didn’t eat away at him too much and the explanation seemed to be enough for Hilda. After a moment she nodded slowly, her frown turning back into a soft smile.

“Understandable.” She agreed, as she continued on her way to the monitors. “And surprisingly responsible of you.” Ray and Gavin let out small breaths of relief.

“Thanks, I think.” Ray mumbled. Hilda began tapping at the monitors, fiddling with the specs to pull out the old software chip.

“But hey, I’d like to meet them.” Hilda called out over her shoulder. Lines of code began rapidly running down the screen before her. “If things ever go south for you two, there should be someone to let them know what’s happened.”

Ray paused for a moment. There was the guilt. That gut wrenching, nauseating, gnawing guilt one could only get when they lied to someone they cared about. Ray tried to push it away, remind himself that she’d find out eventually and when she did, whatever happened happened. She thought he was dating a civilian, thought that they weren’t aware of the kind of life he lived. She wanted to help in any way she could.

Hilda cared. Most days it seemed like the only things she loved in life were her inventions, they were practically her children. But Ray and Gavin knew that she had grown since they first met her. They may be her lab rats but she cared about her lab rats. And she’d do a lot to protect them, especially if she felt that dating a villain wasn’t in their best interest.

She’d find out one day but today was not that day.

“Yeah,” He promised in a soft voice. “You’ll meet them.”

The code stopped running down the screen and a new tiny chip popped out from a slot in her set up. She replaced it in the glasses and held them up to her face, smiling when she saw the analytics running smoothly.

“Here you go.” Hilda walked back over to Ray and handed him the glasses. He switched his glasses to take a quick look before putting the x-ray specs in his glasses case, preferring to keep on his normal set.

Before he could utter a thank you the doors to Hilda’s lab slid open, announcing the arrival of a new visitor. Each of their heads turned simultaneously to see who it was. Hilda’s eyes narrowed into a glare. Gavin’s eyes grew wide in shock. Ray just quietly groaned.

“Shit.” He muttered.

“Well if it isn’t X-Ray and Vav.” Ryan’s deep booming voice echoed off the walls of the lab as he sauntered in, a smirk on his lips as he regarded Ray and Gavin. “I don’t remember giving you clearance into Monarch Labs. I can have you two arrested for trespassing.” Ray had to hold back laughter as he watched Ryan. The villain was giving an impressive show, likely due to the theatre exposure Ray had learned he had gained while in college.

ORF buzzed over to Ryan, hovering with a cheery electronic smile on its face. Ryan leaned away, frowning at the small robot as it flew around his head.

“Greetings CEO of Monarch Labs, Ryan Haywood.” ORF welcomed. Ray and Gavin turned as they heard Hilda let out a frustrated groan beside them.

“ORF, don’t call him that. He’s the Mad King.” She ordered, desperately trying to get the robot to recognize the man who had held it prisoner. ORF’s face disappeared, replaced by a loading bar as a wide beam of light shot out, moving up and down Ryan’s body as the man stood there with a look of curious amusement on his face. The light disappeared and ORF’s eyes and smile returned.

“Facial scan does not match.” ORF announced. “Title not recognized.”

“ORF, c’mon we’ve talked about this. Why don’t you recognize him?” Hilda pleaded.

“Because I made sure that it wouldn’t recognize me.” Ryan answered, tilting his head as he studied the small bot. He frowned. “My crown is a giveaway though, it never forgets the crown.” He muttered.

“You did _what_?” Hilda asked, voice rising as her temper rose with it. Ryan glanced back at her.

“Do you take me for a fool? I wouldn’t have spent so much energy on your robot’s modifications if I didn’t have a few backups.” Ryan suddenly snatched ORF from the air, quickly flipping open a hinged panel as it struggled to get away. “You know,” Ryan mused as he started pressing buttons inside, one of which quickly powered down ORF and made him nothing more than a dead sphere. "I uploaded override codes into this thing. I’m surprised you haven’t gotten rid of them yet.”

“Give him back.” Hilda ground out through her teeth taking a step forward. Ryan looked up at her and smirked.

“And why would I do that?” He asked, tossing ORF up in the air like a dodgeball.

“Because,” Ray stepped in, placing a hand on Hilda’s shoulder to calm her. “All you’re doing is giving your enemies one more reason to hate you.” His face was stern, glaring at Ryan the way he would be expected to. At the same time he was trying to warn him. The plan was to get on Hilda’s good side, not make her hate him more.

Thankfully Ryan seemed to remember that because the man sighed and began pressing buttons again. ORF’s screen lit up and the robot started struggling again, Ryan letting it go once the panel was closed.

“Take that as a warning.” Ryan spoke, watching ORF float back over to Hilda, its screen turning a threating red. “Pay closer attention to your equipment and maybe you’ll stand a chance at beating me one day.”

“Get out of my lab.” Hilda ordered, reaching up to place a protective hand on ORF. Ryan snorted in derision.

“Your lab?” He questioned. “The one I fund?”

“You may legally be my boss but I will never respect your authority.” Hilda stated. The two locked eyes in silent battle while Ray and Gavin stood off to the side, glancing at each other with tired, worried looks. Finally Ryan held up his hands in surrender, smirk never leaving his face. He turned on his heel and went to make his way out of the lab never once acknowledging Ray to avoid suspicion. He paused when he reached the lab doors.

“Ah, I almost forgot why I came here in the first place.” He mused, looking over his shoulder at Hilda. “Your grant’s been approved. You can carry on with your newest project.” With that Ryan left the lab, the doors closing with a whoosh of air behind him. The three left in the lab were silent watching the doors as if waiting for Ryan to walk back through them. Gavin was the one to break the silence, taking in a breath and letting it out in a soft whistle.

“Well,” He spoke carefully. “Congrats on the grant approval I guess.”

“That…that makes no sense.” Hilda muttered, still staring at the doors.

“What?” Ray asked. Hilda turned to look at him, her face a mixture of confusion and irritation.

“The Mad King basically controls the grant committee.” She explained, shaking her head. “If he didn’t want me approved, I wouldn’t be approved.” Ray looked over at Gavin, his partner shrugging.

“Maybe he just wanted to do something nice for a change.” Gavin offered. Maybe if they dropped hints that Ryan was behaving amicably, the peace between him and Hilda would come sooner. But Hilda shook her head, walking back to her lab bench.

“No, he’s definitely planning something.” She insisted. “We’ve got to be on our toes. There’s no telling what shit that bastard’s gonna pull.” She picked up one of the pieces of equipment from the table, a metal gauntlet like weapon, and held it towards Ray and Gavin. “Let’s get started.”

 

* * *

 

 

By the time they left the two were mostly unscathed, Ray suffering only a mild shock from one of the trials and Gavin a bruised shoulder from being thrown against a wall. They stepped into the elevator, Gavin pushing the button for the lobby.

“That could’ve gone better.” Ray murmured, thinking back to the altercation between Ryan and Hilda. Gavin nodded in agreement but stopped and frowned.

“Why isn’t the elevator going down?” Gavin asked, pointing at the lit up numbers indicating the floor as they rose higher and higher. Ray turned and looked out of the glass walls and sure enough he saw that they were going up instead of down. The elevator slowed and dinged, the glowing numbers telling them they were at the uppermost level of the building.

“What the-” Ray began, but stopped short as the doors slowly opened to reveal Ryan standing on the other side, grinning mischievously.

“Sorry I hijacked your elevator.” Ryan said, his tone far from apologetic. “I just needed to talk to you.”

“What the fuck was that, dude?” Ray asked, stepping out of the elevator towards Ryan. Gavin followed close behind, the elevator shutting and moving back down on its way to other floors. “The plan was be nice to Hilda. Not screw with her robot again.” Ryan sighed and had the decency to look somewhat remorseful.

“I can’t help it, she aggravates me.” He defended, reaching out a hand to pull Ray closer.

“Well try harder.” Ray ordered as he dug in his heels, refusing to let Ryan pull him in.

“I approved her grant.” Ryan pointed out. “I did her a favor.”

“Yeah, and now she thinks you’re planning something devious.” Gavin told him, crossing his arms over his chest. Ryan frowned and looked at Ray who sighed and finally allowed the man to pull him closer. He placed his hands on Ryan’s chest as the older man wrapped his arms around his waist.

“If this is gonna happen, she needs to find out eventually.” Ray reminded him. “In the meantime, your only job is to get her to like you as much as possible. I’ll even settle for a polite indifference.” Ryan scowled but his expression softened when Ray went up on his toes to press a chaste kiss to his lips.

“I’ll try.” Ryan murmured, reaching up to brush his knuckles across Ray’s cheek before releasing him.

“What’d you need to talk to us about?” Gavin asked as Ray moved back to stand beside him.

“Not both of you, just Ray. Sorry I took you too Gavin.” The brit shrugged. Ryan turned his attention to Ray.

“Dinner. Tomorrow night.” He proposed. Ray gave a slight nod.

“Sure. Are we going out or…” He trailed off as Ryan shook his head.

“Staying in.” He answered. “We’re having dinner with Geoff and Griffon at my place.”

“Who?” Ray asked in confusion, never having heard those names before.

“Kingpin and Madame Chainsaw.” Ryan clarified. Ray’s eyes widened as he grinned, a squeal leaving his lips.

“Holy shit, yes!” He exclaimed, Ryan watching his excitement with a look of fond amusement. Gavin let out an unintelligible squawk beside him. 

“You’re meeting Madame Chainsaw?” He asked, a mixture of disbelief and jealousy in his voice as he was also a fan of the legendary hero.

“I’ll introduce her to you as well, Gavin.” Ryan promised causing Gavin to mirror Ray’s grin. “But the dinner is more for Ray to see a working, healthy relationship between a hero and a villain.” Gavin nodded in understanding.

“I’m holding you to that.” Gavin told him. Ray stepped forward to kiss Ryan one last time before stepping away and hitting the button to call for the elevator.

“Pizza and Halo night, let’s go Vav.” Ray directed. He turned to look at Ryan. “And you,” He spoke, pointing a warning finger at the man. “Work on those social skills.”

“Maybe I’ll send a card.” Ryan jokingly mused. “ _Sorry for kidnapping your stupid robot. Won’t do it again._ ”

“Yeah, you do that.” Ray deadpanned, Gavin laughing beside him. “I’m sure she won’t shoot you for that.”

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay! Like I said in the last update, I've started shadowing and that takes up a good chunk of my time but I promise you I won't be giving up on this story.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: Geoff has explicitly said to not include Millie in any way into fanfiction. The child that I mentioned earlier in this fic, and will bring up again briefly, is a nameless character meant only as a plot point and Millie will never be mentioned in the story.

“What if they hate me?” Ray asked as he placed another set of silverware down on the kitchen counter. Ryan snorted from his place a few feet away by the stove slicing up a carrot on a chopping board.

“They’re not going to hate you.” Ryan assured him, using the knife to scrape the pieces of carrot to one corner of the board before moving on to cut apart florets of broccoli. “No one could hate you.”

“Could you stop being gay for a second and be serious.” Ray playfully shot back. He finished setting the table and turned to face Ryan, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed. “You and Geoff go way back. If he doesn’t approve of me-”

“If he doesn’t approve of you, nothing changes.” Ryan finished. He pushed aside the broccoli and flipped the knife in his hand, stabbing it down so it embedded in the wood of the cutting board. He turned around to face Ray, reaching out to pull the lad into his arms. Ray relaxed into him, nuzzling his face into the soft material of the cardigan Ryan was wearing. They stood in silence for a few moments, the silence only broken by the boiling pot of water and rice sitting on the stove.

“I want them to like me.” Ray whispered finally, his voice muffled as he pressed closer to Ryan. Ryan rubbed a comforting hand on Ray’s back.

“And they will.” Ray pulled back slightly to make a comment but Ryan quieted him when he pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. “They’re good judges of character.” He murmured, his lips ghosting over Ray’s as their faces lingered close together. “And I know they’ll love you.” Ray looked up, staring into Ryan’s icy blue eyes so full of love meant only for him. Ray swallowed and the corner of his mouth twitched up into a smirk.

“Gaaaaaay.” Ray drawled, chuckling when Ryan rolled his eyes and pushed him away, turning back to the cutting board.

“Get the chicken out of the fridge.” Ryan instructed as he pried the knife out of the wood of the board. Ray grinned, turning towards the fridge before a knock at the door had him freezing where he stood. He looked in the direction of the front door before looking back at Ryan, fear clear in his dark brown eyes.

“Calm down.” Ryan placed a kiss to the top of Ray’s head as he passed by and headed towards the front door, Ray considering trailing after him but deciding against it. Instead he went to get the bowl of chicken and marinade out the fridge like Ryan asked. He heard the door open and new, unfamiliar voices ring out as Ryan greeted his guests. Ray looked to the entrance of the kitchen at the sound of approaching footsteps and sucked in a breath at the sight of the visitors as they stepped through the threshold.

“Oh wow, you’re really pretty.” Ray felt the words tumble from his mouth as he watched a beautiful blonde woman step into the room, tattooed arms thinly veiled by the black lace sleeves of her dress. She carried a large wrapped parcel in her arms, sturdy on her feet despite the six inch heels she wore. The stories of Madame Chainsaw’s beauty were not at all exaggerated, the hero before him appearing like a modern day Greek goddess. He looked up at the sound of her laughter, dark red lips curving into a fond smile.

“How sweet.” She remarked, stepping further into the kitchen with Ryan and another man following after her. The man wore an odd combination of a graphic t-shirt and blazer, tattoos peeking out from the sleeves and covering his fingers and knuckles. An impressive mustache rested above his scowling mouth.

“Watch it, that’s my wife you’re flirting with.” The man barked out, his voice deep but filled with high pitched cracks. Ryan came up behind him, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

“I don’t think you need to worry.” Ryan told him, stepping around to stand by Ray. He took the lad’s hand and led him closer to the couple. “Ray, this is Geoff and his wife Griffon.” He introduced.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Ray greeted. “It’s an honor actually. I’m a huge fan.” He said, directing the comment at Griffon.

“That’s very kind of you.” Griffon responded, shifting the parcel in her arms so she could shake Ray’s hand.

“I brought whiskey.” Geoff announced, holding up a bottle of Jack Daniels as he brushed past Ray and his wife. Ray frowned and looked to Ryan, watching as the older man sighed and glared at his friend.

“Neither of us drink, Geoff.” Ryan reminded the mustached man. Geoff glanced over his shoulder before turning back to Ryan’s cupboards, grabbing a glass from the shelf and placing it on the counter.

“It’s for me.” Came Geoff’s answer as he opened the bottle, pouring himself a generous amount of the golden liquor. Ryan watched him with narrowed eyes, a judgmental quip on the tip of his tongue when Griffon stepped between him and her husband.

“ _This_ is for you.” Griffon spoke, holding out the bundle she was carrying, which Ray now noticed was wrapped with cloth rather than paper.

Ryan took it from her and gingerly placed it on the counter, the parcel making a dull thunk as it landed on the granite. Ray came around to stand by Ryan and watch as he pulled away the loose binding of cloth to reveal a sizeable slab of cylindrical wood. Artfully placed burns created an echo of spaced concentric circles encompassing an intricately carved image of a crown in the center of the slab, complete with a partial crack in one of its points.

“A target?” Ray questioned, glancing up at Griffon as Ryan ran his fingers over the crown. She nodded, smiling as she watched Ryan study the piece with an appreciative gaze.

“Ryan the knife throwing guy.” Geoff murmured, leaning against the counter behind him as he sipped at his whiskey. Ray looked at Ryan, the older man still smiling down at the gift.

“You throw knives?” Ray asked in disbelief. He quickly shook his head. “What am I saying, of course you throw knives.”

“It’s just a hobby.” Ryan argued as he folded the cloth back over to protect the target before he picked it up again. “It’s beautiful.” He stated as he walked by Griffon and placed a quick kiss to her cheek. “Thank you.”

Ryan left the kitchen to put the target somewhere safe until he could find somewhere to hang it leaving Ray alone with Griffon and Geoff. As soon as he left the two turned to look at him, their gazes intense and scrutinizing.

“Uh-”

“Jesus Christ, Ryan. He’s a fuckin’ kid.” Geoff cut Ray off, his shouting directed towards Ryan’s general location in the next room.

“I’m not a kid.” Ray argued defensively, crossing his arms over his chest. Griffon chuckled at the sight of his sulky glare as she poured herself a glass of whiskey, clinking the glass with her husband’s.

“Seriously though, what’s the age difference here?” Geoff asked when Ryan came back into the kitchen. Ryan looked at Ray, his brow furrowing as he suddenly realized he didn’t know Ray’s age.

“How old are you?” He asked. Ray quirked an eyebrow, an amused grin growing on his face.

“Twenty four.” He answered. Ryan’s quick mental math had him letting out a tired breath.

“Just…nine years.” Ryan muttered, reaching up to rub the back of his neck as he avoided eye contact with Geoff. Ray’s eyes widened a bit before he chuckled and turned towards the fridge.

“You’re old as shit, dude.” Ray stated as he opened the fridge, pulling out two diet cokes for him and Ryan. Ryan scoffed, still ignoring the glare Geoff was sending his direction.

“Thirty three is not old.” Ryan contended petulantly, taking the can of soda Ray held out to him before walking back over to the stove to start throwing ingredients into the large wok that sat there. Griffon glanced over and, at seeing Geoff’s unwavering glare, smacked him in the chest with the back of her hand.

“Stop that.” She ordered him. “We’ve got a five year gap-”

“You can’t compare-” Geoff started over her.

“And they’re both mature, responsible adults that can make their own decisions.” Griffon finished, sending him a bone chilling stare, as if daring her husband to make another remark. “Debating their age difference isn’t why we’re here.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Geoff acknowledged, his voice switching from gruff to a taunting, saccharine tone. “We’re here because Ryan went and fell in love with a hero.”

“Woah now, it’s only been two weeks.” Ray spoke quickly, tensing at the mention of love. He glanced at Ryan and let out a breath, thankful that the man looked equally as terrified at the mention of such an important notion so early in their relationship.

“You fell, shit head.” Geoff pointed an accusing finger at Ryan, still clutching at his glass of whiskey. Griffon stood off to the side, sipping at her own drink with a neutral expression. “And you fell hard. You and that crown of yours could have brought this city to their knees but that’s never gonna happen now. You know why?” Geoff kept his eyes trained on Ryan but turned his finger now to Ray, who stood frozen in panic. “You’ve got a liability now, something to protect.”

“Geoff-” Ryan started, his hands curling into fists.

“You can never leave your mark.”

“Stop this-”

“Never rise to your full potential.”

“I don’t-”

“Never-”

“I DON’T WANT THAT!” Ryan shouted, his booming voice making Ray and even Geoff flinch. Griffon still sipped at her whiskey. “I never did, I never wanted any of that! I just want him!” Ryan was shaking with anger now, his blue eyes ablaze with a dangerous fire Ray had never seen before. Geoff look slightly taken aback, his eyes wide and his mouth still open with unspoken words on his tongue. Geoff let out a breath and squared his shoulders, giving a slight nod.

“Just making sure.” He said, bringing the glass of whiskey back to his lips. Ryan froze, his fists loosening as he blinked in confusion at his friend.

“What the fuck just happened?” Ray whispered, voicing the question he was sure was on Ryan’s mind. He flinched when he felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder. Looking up he saw Griffon smiling down at him, her face calm and soothing.

“If this relationship is going to work to for the two of you,” She explained. “We need to know that you’re prepared to make sacrifices for one another. Even if it means giving up your other life.” Ray glanced at Geoff.

“So why work only Ryan up like that?” He questioned. “Why not the both of us?” Geoff made a vague gesture in Ryan’s direction, his glass sloshing and threatening to spill.

“He’s a good liar. I needed to push him a bit.” Geoff explained. “Also I like being a dick to Ryan.”

“So what about me?” Ray asked, watching as Ryan looked down at the floor, face still in a state of shock as he slowly blinked. Geoff nodded his head in Ryan’s direction.

“You wanna date this idiot?” He asked. Ray nodded wordlessly. “Cool, your funeral.” Geoff looked around the kitchen. “What’s for dinner?”

“Stir-fry.” Ryan murmured, still blinking at the ground. Ray made his way over to him, placing a hand on Ryan’s arm. The man looked up and stared at Ray for a moment before a smile grew on his face.  Ray smiled back and nudged him aside so he could tend to the stir-fry still sizzling in the wok.

The tense atmosphere of the room rapidly dissipated as Ryan caught up with his friends, Ray occasionally chiming in to the conversations. Ray quickly learned the abrasive nature Geoff had been displaying was more of a front than his actual personality. The tattoos, the burly appearance, the ever present glare coming from his consistently tired eyes. They were the perfect outward façade for a villain, perfect because unless you sat down and had dinner and a few drinks with the man you’d never guess he cried at the ending of _Titanic_.

The man was actually quite amicable, only acting stoic and cruel to make sure he could get an accurate read on Ryan and Ray. Conversation flowed over dinner, topics switching from gaming to anecdotes from when Griffon and Geoff still acted as hero and villain.

“Ryan mentioned you have a daughter.” Ray recalled. “Does she know…”

“She knows enough.” Came Geoff’s answer as he sipped at what must have been his fourth full glass of whiskey. The man barely looked tipsy. “And whatever she chooses, we’ll support her.”

“Chooses?” Ray asked.

“If she wants to be a villain.” Geoff answered.

“Or a hero.” Griffon supplied. “Or just a normal civilian.”

“So how did you two choose?” Ray asked. Griffon and Geoff glanced at one another, knowing smiles on their faces.

“Chainsaws are fun.” Came Griffon’s incredibly simple answer. “Threatening bad guys with chainsaws is even more fun.”

“The army didn’t agree with me.” Geoff confessed. “But building things that made other things blow up did. And the money, booze, and women weren’t too bad either.” He added, winking at Griffon as his wife rolled her eyes.

“I met Geoff back in my college days.” Ryan interposed. “Back when I was wreaking havoc behind the anonymity of a mask.” Ryan had told Ray the story of his descent into villainy. It began with petty crimes and the occasional minor explosion to satisfy the tastes of the _other guy_. He hid behind a skull mask he had found one day in one of those hole in the wall stores that would sell Halloween supplies for a few weeks then disappear. But as funding and materials grew, the extremes of his crimes grew as well.

Ryan and Geoff had met at school, both pursuing careers in engineering and computer science, but drifted apart when Ryan moved to the city and Geoff traveled overseas for a brief stint in the army until he grew bored, as he did with most things. Geoff’s boredom, abundant resources, and bad influence coupled beautifully with Ryan’s intentions when they bumped into each other once again, both eager to kick start their new lives.

“He was just a little baby villain back then.” Geoff spoke with a tone of reminiscent fondness. “The difference between Ryan and I is that he came into the game later in his life where as I grew up with it. Raised by a father whose father built Monarch labs on the foundation of counterfeit bills and illegal weapons trading before handing it down to him. He did his father proud by continuing those business practices until the bastard drank himself into an early grave.”

“Good thing he did too.” Griffon mused. “He would have _hated_ me.” Geoff chuckled in agreement, reaching over to take Griffon’s hand in his as he ran his thumb over the wedding band on her finger.

“I would’ve killed him for you, baby.” Geoff promised, pulling her hand towards him to place a kiss on her knuckles. “My brother and I took over the family business, old contracts and loopholes making it impossible to place the company in any other person’s hands. He was older so he took control first until you-” He pointed a finger at Ray who froze mid bite of his food. “Sent his ass to jail.”

“…Sorry?” Ray apologized, mildly confused once again as to how Geoff felt about his family, and in turn how he felt about Ray. Geoff shrugged and shook his head.

“Don’t be. I hated him too.”

“You were never too fond of your family.” Ryan observed with a smirk. Geoff snorted, swallowing another dram of whiskey.

“I was fond of their money. It let me build that beautiful suit of mine.” Geoff looked back at Ray. “You ever seen it?” Ray shook his head.

“Only in pictures.” Ray answered, thinking of the dark green suit he had seen photos of in old police reports he and Gavin had access to. Geoff smiled, an impish glint in his eye as he shed the blazer he was wearing.

“The most it does nowadays is gather dust in storage.” Geoff confessed, holding up his arm so the chrome watch he sported on his wrist glinted in the fluorescent lights. “Griffy and I put all that behind us a while ago. But we still keep a few toys around just in case.” He reached up with his other hand and gripped the face of the watch, giving it a few quick twists. Ray’s confusion quickly turned to awe as metal strips snaked out of the watch, covering Geoff’s hand, wrist, and forearm stopping just short of his elbow. The green and silver metal shined and hummed with energy as Geoff turned his arm around, waiting for the gears to settle.

“Holy shit.” Ray breathed out, his eyes sparkling as he looked at the gauntlet. Geoff smile grew into a toothy grin from the lad’s attention.

“Maybe one day you can see the whole suit.” Geoff proposed, glancing at Ryan for his approval. The other villain smiled and gave a slight nod, happy to see Ray so animated. After allowing Ray to investigate the gauntlet a little more, Geoff set the piece back to his watch and shrugged his blazer back on.

“So I assume we’ll be seeing you at the welcome banquet.” Griffon spoke as Ryan stood to make the transition from dinner to dessert, cutting up and plating slices of cheesecake. Ray frowned and looked towards Ryan.

“What banquet?” Ray asked. Ryan grimaced slightly as he handing out the dessert and rejoined everyone at the table.

“It’s an event hosted by Monarch Labs to welcome Geoff to his position.” Ryan explained. “I didn’t think you’d want to go.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to go?” Ray questioned. 

“I’m not sure if Hilda will be there.” Ryan answered, watching Ray pause and stare down at the table, conflicting thoughts running through his mind. “She knows about Geoff and she hates me as it is, so she probably won’t want to attend a party thrown for a villain. But if she does-”

“Who cares?” Ryan blinked at Ray’s declaration. Griffon and Geoff watched the exchange with curiosity.

“What?” Ryan asked. Ray looked up at him, his face determined.

“Who cares?” Ray repeated. “I don’t, not anymore. If she finds out, then she finds out. I don’t want to hide from her.” Ryan looked taken aback at the decision, reaching out to take Ray’s hand in his own.

“Are you sure?” Ryan asked, searching Ray’s eyes for any hint of hesitancy. Ray turned their hands, interlocking their fingers together with a smile.

“Yeah.” Ray assured him. “I’m sure.” Ryan mirrored his smile.

“Gavin can come too.” Ryan suggested. “Moral support, just in case.” Ray chuckled at thought, realizing if it came down to it, Gavin likely wouldn’t be a source of comfort but rather another set of arms to hold Hilda back from attacking Ryan.

The four of them carried on with the night, two heroes and two villains having casual conversations about memories, current events, helpful advice, whatever came up. Ray was sad to see them go, very much enjoying the energy of the tattooed couple, but they had to get home to relieve the babysitter. Ray and Ryan saw them to the door, Ryan thanking Griffon once again for the wooden target before they bid them goodnight.

Ryan shut the door with a soft click and leaned against it, his back resting against the wood as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“That went well, right?” Ray spoke, breaking the silence that had settled. Ryan glanced at him before glancing away.

“I’m not old.” Ryan muttered, pushing off of the door and heading back towards the kitchen. Ray snorted and followed after him.

“Aw, did I hurt da widdle baby’s feewings?” Ray taunted, highly amused by how much his offhand comment about Ryan’s age was affecting him. Ryan turned abruptly, Ray crashing into him as he wasn’t able to react quickly enough. Ryan’s arms wrapped around his waist and Ray looked up at him with a smile until he saw how bothered Ryan looked. “What’s wrong?”

“Does the age difference bother you?” Ryan asked. Ray blinked up at him, his brow furrowed and a hesitant smile gracing his lips. He slowly shook his head and Ryan let out a breath of relief. “I just want to make sure you’re comfortable.” Ray paused a moment before pulling away slightly, tugging himself out of Ryan’s arms.

“Are you comfortable?” Ray asked. It was Ryan’s turn to be confused, staring at Ray with wide eyes as the younger waited for an answer.

“Yeah, I’m fine-”

“Because you always ask _me_ ,” Ray pointed out. “if I’m okay, but you’re a part of this too.” Ryan’s look of disbelief melted away, replaced by a look of fondness as he reached up to cup Ray’s face in his hands.

“I’m comfortable as long as you’re comfortable.” Came his answer, too vague for Ray’s liking. Ray huffed, holding up his hand, fingers curled into a fist save for his pinky.

“Promise you’ll tell me if there’s a problem.” Ray requested. Ryan looked at the outstretched pinky before releasing Ray’s face to link their pinkies together in a childlike oath. His chest grew warm at the sight of Ray’s pleased grin.

“I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When you think of Geoff's suit, just think Iron Man but with the color scheme of Master Chief/his minecraft skin


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyyyyy I'm back. Sorry this chapter took so long but shadowing really took up a lot of my time and now I'm caught up with packing for school. Hopefully I'll get the last few chapters out to you in a timely fashion despite school starting. Thanks for all the continued support, it keeps me going.

“If you shagging Ryan means more free bevs for me then I’m all for it.” Gavin said decidedly as he snagged another glass of champagne off a passing waiter’s tray. Ray watched with amusement as Gavin happily sipped at the bubbly drink. Ray thought he looked quite at home amongst the other guests socializing in the Monarch Labs ballroom.

They had gone all out for Geoff Ramsey’s welcoming event. Waiters waltzed around with trays of drinks and food while researchers, journalists, and politicians alike gossiped and observed those around them. Under normal circumstances, Ray and Gavin would never have been able to attend such an extravagant event, let alone dress the part for it. But things change when you’re dating the CEO.

Ray was once again wearing his three piece suit, Gavin adorned in a matching one save for their ties. Ray had chosen a forest green tie while Gavin wore a blue one, small symbols of their hero suits. They blended in well with the other dapper members of the event.

“Why you gotta make it sound like you’re selling me out for drinks, Gav?” Ray jested as he plucked one of the canapés off of a tray being offered by another waiter.

“Aw, I know you’re a classy lady, boi.” Gavin retorted, taking one of the cocktail snacks as well.

“Damn right.” The heroes bumped their snacks together in a toast before taking a bite.

“Where is he anyway, your Ryan?” Gavin asked, his eyes scanning the ballroom for any sign of the man.

Ray scoffed at the phrasing but he was thankful for the room’s dim lighting so Gavin couldn’t see his cheeks flush. _His Ryan_. How corny did that sound? Like they were some tacky…cutesy couple…like they…

Actually, Ray didn’t mind the sound of it.

“Not sure. He’s not with Geoff.” Ray observed, eyes searching the room as well until they spotted the retired villain.

The man of the hour was standing off to the side of the stage tugging at the collar of the suit Griffon had no doubt forced him into. His wife stood next to him, the picture of grace and beauty in a black and gold cocktail dress.

“Isn’t she lovely.” Ray heard Gavin mumble in a hushed tone beside him.

“I know.” Ray agreed. “And Griffon’s super nice too, she’s-”

“What?” Gavin cut him off, shaking his head. “No, I’m talking about her.” Gavin pointed and Ray followed his gaze to see he was talking about Ryan’s assistant who was standing nearby.

“Oh, that’s Meg.” Ray informed him. Ray had been introduced to Ryan’s assistant, more like a second in command to him, when she had stopped by Ryan’s apartment to drop off some files. He had recognized her as the one who had wordlessly dropped off his suit for his and Ryan’s first date. She was Ryan’s most trusted, a clever businesswoman with not only a background in law but also knowledge of engineering. Ray saw that she had dyed her hair again, something Ryan had told him she did often, her red hair now a soft violet that cascaded in waves down her shoulders. Her eyes were cast down, her face illuminated by the soft glow of the tablet she was tapping away on.

“She’s beautiful.” Gavin’s voice was light and filled with awe, the young hero clearly star struck. The corner of Ray’s mouth quirked into a smile as he nudged his partner with his elbow.

“Why don’t you go talk to her.” Ray suggested, his tone calm so as not to startle the jittery brit. Gavin tensed nonetheless, whipping his head around to stare wide eyed at Ray.

“Are you kidding?!” He exclaimed in disbelief. “Girl like that wouldn’t give me the time of day.” Gavin brought his champagne glass up to hide his pouting mouth as a blush rose on his cheeks. Ray bit back a laugh at his friend’s school girl crush and nudged him again.

“Senpai won’t notice you unless you fucking talk to her.” Ray told him. Gavin’s eyes flicked back and forth between Ray and Meg before he let out a sigh of defeat.

“Alright.” Gavin downed to rest of his drink and took off in Meg’s direction, placing the empty glass on a passing waiter’s tray in an impressively elegant move that was quickly washed over by the lad stumbling as he tripped over his own feet. Ray bit back another laugh as his partner recovered and finally made his way over to Meg. He watched from afar as Ryan’s assistant looked up from the tablet, a look of surprise on her face at Gavin’s sudden arrival. Ray watched for a few moments, able to see even from a distance that Gavin was stumbling through his words in his nervousness as Meg smiled sweetly at him.

A sudden warm weight was pressed against Ray’s back making the hero tense.

“She’ll eat him alive.” Ray relaxed at the sound of a familiar deep baritone voice from behind him. Ryan’s arms wrapped around his waist and the older man rested his chin atop Ray’s shoulder. Ray chuckled and brought his arms up to rest over Ryan’s.

“He’s a big boy, he’ll be fine.” Ray assured him. The hero paused and stiffened in Ryan’s arms as he realized how affectionate they were acting towards each other. Ryan noticed the discomfort and quickly shook his head.

“No sign of Hilda.” He told Ray, smiling as the hero visibly relaxed. “Why don’t we get a drink before Geoff’s introduction begins.” Ray nodded in agreement and linked arms with Ryan, the couple making their way over to the bar.

As they made their way through crowds of people, Ray watched out of the corner of his eye as people around them whispered to each other, stealing glances at him and Ryan.

But this sort of behavior was common place.

It had taken a while for Ray grew used to it, for him to recognize they weren’t whispering because they saw X-Ray and the Mad King. They were whispering because it was James Ryan Haywood, CEO of a major corporation, with a new person by his side. The people were curious, they were nosy, they craved scandals and news. He and Ryan hadn’t made any public declaration yet so news stations and tabloids were left speculating as to who Ray was and what he meant to this major businessman.

Ryan kept the rumors under control with his recognition program, running it to not only pick out pictures of the Mad King but of him and Ray out in public together as well. Nothing got by that Ray wasn’t comfortable with or that Ryan didn’t approve of. Hilda’s lack of interest in social media and tabloid news had kept her from seeing what the rest of the public was already realizing.

They had just reached the bar, the bartender on staff immediately turning his attention to the CEO, but before either of them could get a word out Gavin’s sudden arrival with Meg by his side had Ryan groaning quietly to himself.

“Hey, you found him.” Gavin remarked as he draped his arm around Ray’s shoulders to pull him close and away from Ryan. Ray looked over to Ryan but saw the gent was now looking between Gavin and Meg, a look of irritation on his face.

“And I see you’ve found my assistant.” Ryan observed in a disgruntled tone as he regarded Gavin with icy eyes. Gavin’s smile fell at the chilling look and he took a small step away from Meg, moving so that Ray acted as a barrier between him and Ryan. Meg merely sighed and rolled her eyes, unfazed by the behavior as she powered up her tablet once more to check her itinerary.

“Yes and how fortunate that we’ve all come together just in time for me to escort you to the stage.” She stated with a smile as she reached out to take Ryan’s arm. Ryan frowned and tried to pull out of the vice grip the small woman had on his forearm.

“But-”

“The people are waiting.” Meg cut him off, tugging to get him to move away from the bar.

“Screw the people, I want to have a drink with Ray.” Ryan argued petulantly, glancing over at Ray with a pleading look in his eyes. Meg shook her head and tugged again, her impressive strength causing Ryan to stumble forward slightly.

“You’ll have all night for that. You need to introduce Geoff to the stage.” She implored, looking back down at her tablet with a focused gaze. Ryan opened his mouth to argue once more but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Ray smiling at him before the hero gave him a slight shove in Meg’s direction.

“Go rock that stage, Ry-bread. I’ll still be here when you’re done.” Ray promised. Ryan sighed but smiled as he took the hand resting on his shoulder.

“I’ll see you in a bit, Rose.” Ryan vowed, kissing Ray’s knuckles. Ray blushed but didn’t pull his hand away despite the sniggering he could hear coming from Gavin and the whispers from the people around him. “Meet us by the stage after the speech!” Ryan shouted as Meg dragged him towards Geoff and Griffon. Ray and Gavin watched them disappear into the crowd, silence between them until Gavin spoke.

“Rose?” He questioned, a teasing smile growing on his face. Ray’s smile turned into scowl.

“Shut up.” Was all he said, stalking away with a giggling Gavin trailing after him.

They joined the other patrons but remained on the outskirts of the crowd forming in front of the large presentation stage. Ryan took the stage standing at a podium, polite applause greeting him until he held up a silencing hand. He thanked the audience, throwing out a few names of high tier donators and important political figures in attendance before moving on to introduce Geoff.

“Without further ado it is an honor to welcome to the stage, Geoffrey Ramsey.” Ryan finished as he stepped away from the podium, pausing only to shake Geoff’s hand as the authorized press snapped their photos. Geoff replaced Ryan at the podium, taking a deep breath before he began his speech.

“Good evening everyone. I’d like to start off by thanking…by thanking…” Geoff trailed off, staring down at the podium. The silence in the room was slowly filled with hushed, curious whispers which turned quickly to confused gasps as Geoff began tearing apart small notecards that had been lying on the podium. He raised up the pieces and tossed them in the air so they scattered and floated down to rest on the stage. The whispers in the room grew louder as Geoff let out a sigh, his rigid posture deforming into a lax stance as he leaned against the podium.

“What is he doing?” Gavin asked. Ray shrugged in response and shook his head. He searched for Ryan and found him near the stage with Meg, a smirk on both of their faces. Clearly they weren’t nearly as concerned with the outburst, almost looking like they had expected it to happen.

“I’m gonna be honest,” Geoff began again, silencing the whispers as the audience turned their full attention on him, “events like these aren’t exactly my strong suit. This tie is choking me,” Geoff tugged on his collar and loosened his tie slightly, “the spot light on me is way too fucking bright, and I haven’t had nearly enough to drink to get through this speech. My advisors wrote this,” He gestured towards the shredded note cards scattered on the stage, “spiel for me and I can see them off to the side right now having fucking strokes because I’m ignoring what they told me to do.”

Ray, Gavin, and many other attendees turned to look at the group of people standing next to the stage. Stern older men in suits frowning and muttering to their panicking assistants as they frantically tried to come up with solutions to their sudden loss of control over their corporate leader.

“But here at Monarch Labs we shouldn’t care about stiff ass speeches that make you bored as dicks.” Geoff continued. “We’re here to make a difference in the world of technology. I’m an engineer, like most of you in this room. I know that incredible moment when scraps of metal or a few lines of code create something truly life changing.” The whispers started in the room again, but this time they were murmurs of approval and agreement at hearing someone acknowledge their trade. “We have the influence and resources to create, destroy, reinvent, and change society. We will reimagine the world as we know it and recreate it as we see fit because we have the power to do just that.”

As the audience grew louder, words of praise filling the ballroom for their new leader. Ray and Gavin took pause and exchanged a knowing look with one another. To anyone else, Geoff’s speech was supportive of movement and change in society. But to the two heroes there was the undercurrent of a villain staking a claim, calling for a rise to action. Gavin’s brow quirked in a questioning manner but Ray silently shook his head. The life of a villain was behind Geoff, he had moved on. But clearly there were still remnants of his former ideals. He probably wasn’t even aware he was starting to sound like the infamous Kingpin he once was.

“There’s so much potential in this room alone, so many innovative young minds and experienced mentors to guide them.” Geoff was grinning, passionate about the field he excelled in. “And I can tell every one of you, honestly and truly, that I am proud to be the one that will oversee this revolution every step of the way. Thank you.”

With those parting words, the ballroom erupted with applause and shouts of commendation. Geoff gave a few waves and curt nods as he exited the stage, shaking hands with nearly every person he passed as he attempted to make his way over to Griffon, Meg, and Ryan. Ray and Gavin prepared to make their way towards them until a voice cut through the rumble of sounds in the ballroom.

“X-Ray?” Ray froze at the sound of his alias being called out. Turning quickly he expected to face some press member, a journalist who had managed to connect the dots and identify the green clad hero. But who he actually saw was someone much worse.

“Hilda?” He croaked, his chest tightening with anxiety at seeing their weapons builder. She was staring back at him, a mix of happy surprise and confusion on her face. The engineer was out of her normal lab coat, dressed appropriately in a simple black dress with her purple hair down from its usual ponytail. She looked past Ray to see Gavin standing nearby looking just as shocked as Ray.

“Vav? What are you two doing here?” She questioned, stepping closer to the panicking heroes.

“Uh, we-” Ray glanced back towards the stage, looking for the Ramseys and Ryan. Ray thought he was ready for her to finally know but he needed Ryan there beside him or the words just wouldn’t come.

“Wait, are you guys here to spy too?” Hilda guessed as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Wow, I’m impressed you got in-” She broke off, staring at something past Ray and Gavin. Her look of surprise quickly morphed to one of hate and disgust. Ray didn’t have to turn around to know who was behind them.

“I told you to meet us by the stage.” Ryan spoke, his eyes cast down as he scrolled through messages on his phone. Met with silence he finally looked up to see Hilda’s unwavering glare. “Oh fuck.”

“Mad King.” Was Hilda’s malice filled greeting. Ray looked back over to the stage, finally finding Geoff in the throng of attendees. The man was watching the altercation from afar and when the two locked eyes, an understanding passed between them. Ray watched as he moved as far from the group as he could, effectively leading the crowd away as well as they followed. “Wait, meet by the stage?” Ray’s head whipped back over to see Hilda looking at him and Gavin, her gaze wary. “He knew you two were here?”

Ryan stepped forward, closer to Ray, as he tried to come up with an excuse. “Yes, because…”

“Because he invited us.” Ray cut him off. Ryan looked at him in shock. Gavin stepped closer, mumbling something about being careful. “Because I’m his date.” Ray reached out and took Ryan’s hand in his own, the villain still looking at him like he had just confessed to murder. “We’ve been dating for a while.”

Hilda looked down at their linked hands, her expression unreadable. There was a sudden glint in her eye as everything clicked. “ _He’s_ the person you’ve been seeing?” She asked, looking back up at Ray as she gestured towards Ryan. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“They figured you’d be mad.” Gavin cut in, hoping to draw some of the attention away from Ryan and Ray. “You know, because of the whole Mad King bit.”

“But it’s fine, it really is.” Ray quickly assured her. She didn’t seem to be angry yet, just shocked. “We keep our personal lives separate from all the superhero crap.” Ryan squeezed his hand in silent support. “And I know you and Ryan never really got along but-”

“ _Ryan_.” The name came out like a curse, like she was spitting out something acrid and vile. The two heroes and villain froze as Hilda closed her eyes and shook her head. The world seemed to freeze around them as she let out a broken laugh. “I knew you two were dense but this is a whole new level of idiocy.”

Ray’s brow furrowed as he glanced back at Gavin to see a similar look of hurt on his partner’s face. “Hilda, come on-”

“He tried to take over the city.” She spat, opening her eyes to glare in disbelief at Ray and Gavin. “He beats the shit out of you guys on a weekly basis. _He took ORF_.”

Ryan took a step forward with an outstretched, placating hand. “And I apologize for-”

“You are _not_ allowed to speak right now.” She hissed, her voice laced with venom as she took a step away from Ryan’s outstretched hand, flinching as if it would burn her. Ryan quickly drew his hand back, raising it in a sign of peace. He glanced at Ray, looking for direction but Ray just shook his head and let out a broken sigh.

“Hilda, I-”

“No, stop. I’m done listening to this.” Hilda decided, taking another step back. She shook her head again, like she was still trying to process what she had just learned. “I know they say keep your enemies closer but this is _way_ too close, Ray.” She looked at the three of them one last time before giving a curt, decisive nod. “Have fun sleeping with a psychopath.”

Ray sucked in a breath as Hilda turned and left the ballroom, Ryan’s hand tightening at her words. The three of them stood in silence, the drone of the other attendees in the ballroom mixing with the ringing in their ears. Ray stared at the door Hilda left through, unmoving and unblinking, until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Gavin, his face somber but smiling in support.

“I thought it’d be bad,” Ryan finally spoke, eyes distant. “but I didn’t imagine it’d be _that_ bad.” Ryan looked at Ray and loosened the grip he had on the hero’s hand. “I’m so sorry Ray.”

Ray slowly shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I mean, yeah it would have been great if she had been at least a little okay with it.” He trailed off as he looked back at the ballroom entrance, as if Hilda would walk back through willing to give this a chance. Ray looked back at Ryan and gripped the man’s hand tighter so the villain couldn’t pull away. “But like you said, I can’t live my life worrying about others. I should do something that’ll make me happy.” He twisted their hands, linking their fingers together between them. “And you make me happy.”

Ryan’s look of condolence turned to one of joy as he pulled Ray close, engulfing the younger man in a hug. Ray clung to him, desperate for comfort after the pain of possibly losing a friend for good. The couple broke apart at the sound of someone purposefully clearing their throat nearby, looking up to see Geoff, Griffon, and Meg had joined them. The other guests in the ballroom had finally given the newly appointed corporate leader his space, journalists leaving to submit their stories in time for tomorrow’s news.

“Well, I think we all could use a drink after that.” Geoff stated, twirling the end of his mustache with his fingers. “I know a bar not far from here-”

“Geoff, neither of us drink.” Ryan reminded him again, voice tired. He kept his arm around Ray’s waist, sensing the lad wanted to keep him close.

“Come on, it’s just a social thing.” Geoff argued. A waiter passed by the group with a tray of hors d'oeuvres and Geoff’s nose wrinkled in disgust at the sight of tentacles on the platter. “And the food there is great too.”

“Ray?” Ray turned to see Ryan looking to him for confirmation. Ray could tell that Ryan was going to be treating him with kid gloves again, checking in every minute to make sure he was happy and comfortable. Ray had been trying, and slowly but surely succeeding, in breaking him of that behavior but after what just happened Ryan was back on high alert. Ray sighed and gave him a reassuring smile.

“Hey, I’m not one to pass up good food.” He decided. Ryan looked at him for a moment, looking for any tells that Ray was upset, before looking over to Gavin.

“How about you, Gavin?” Ryan asked. The brit’s eyes darted back over to Ryan from where they had been watching Meg as he let out a surprised squeak at suddenly being addressed.

“Nah, I’m good. You guys have a nice time.” He quickly answered. Ray frowned.

“Gav, come on. You know you’re welcome.” He reminded his partner. Ryan had been great about sharing him with his friend, understanding he had a loyalty to his partner before anything else. If Ryan invited Ray somewhere casual, the invite would always extend to Gavin as well.

“Yeah, I’d love to hear more from the heroes I left this disaster of a city to.” Griffon spoke up, coming to stand at Geoff’s side. Gavin held up his hands and shook his head.

“Really, it’s fine. Turney and I were actually gonna go grab a movie.” He admitted, eyes darting over to the Ryan’s black clad assistant standing off to the side tapping away at her tablet. She looked up briefly at the mention of her name and smiled at Gavin before looking back to her work.

“Turney?” Ryan repeated, his clipped cold tone sending a shiver down Gavin’s spine. “You’re going on a date with my assistant?”

“Damn, this kid moves fast.” Geoff muttered, Griffon nudging his ribs with her elbow. Gavin didn’t move away when Meg went to stand beside him, standing his ground against the CEO’s protective wrath.

 Ryan took a step away from Ray, moving towards Gavin until they were face to face, Ryan coming up a few inches taller. He stared down at Gavin, his expression hard and unpromising. “She’s very important to me.” He spoke, voice quiet. Gavin looked terrified for a moment before his jaw clenched and he squared his shoulders, challenging the man before him.

“You gonna threaten me like I did you?” He questioned. Ryan stared for a moment before grinning like he knew a secret.

“I’m going to warn you. Give this girl a reason to hate you and you’ll wish you were dealing with the Mad King.” Gavin blinked, glancing over at Meg whose only response was a sweet, innocent smile. The hero swallowed against the lump in his throat as Ryan patted his shoulder. “Have fun.”

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to formally apologize for two things:
> 
> 1\. For leaving you all with a bit of a cliffhanger last chapter and then disappearing for four months  
> 2\. For once again leaving you with a bit of a cliffhanger this chapter with no guarantee I'll update soon
> 
> But hey, I'm in the middle of finals week so when better to finish and post a chapter

“But what if you were trying to save someone with a phobia of chainsaws?”

“A phobia of chainsaws is just common sense.”

“My point still stands, the glasses are better.”

“Look kid, you _really_ don’t want to start this shit with me.”

“How about we don’t argue?” Ryan offered meekly. He froze as two pairs of piercing eyes turned on him, one set blue and the other brown.

“Shut up, Ryan.” Ray and Griffon ordered in unison before turning back towards one another.

“Alright.” Ryan agreed quietly, shrinking back and sipping at his diet coke. Geoff chuckled from his spot in the booth, already three whiskey sours deep but far from tipsy. The couples had claimed a four person booth in one corner of the bar Geoff had dragged them too, Ryan and Ray on one side with Geoff and Griffon facing them. The heroes of the group were currently clashing over weapon superiority. Ray’s argument was, surprisingly, practicality and Griffon’s was effectiveness.

They weren’t fighting per se, smiles and lighthearted jabs still thrown into the argument, but the disagreement had started when Geoff was still on his first drink and hadn’t stopped since.

“Just let them duke it out.” Geoff suggested, eyes glancing around the bar for their waitress and signaling her over with a wave. “We can step in if they actually want to start testing their weapons out on each other.” Geoff paused. “ _Maybe_.” He added with a mischievous grin.

Ryan frowned but let his small hero continue nonetheless. He could tell Ray was enjoying himself and that’s all that mattered after what he had just gone through.

 _His small hero_.

Ryan and Ray hadn’t discussed titles or labels in their relationship yet. What they had was obviously more than a fling and the tabloids were aching for something concrete to beef up their headlines but even the young couple didn’t know what to call themselves.

Lovers? Boyfriends? Ryan had been meaning to ask. He didn’t want to pressure Ray into labeling what they had but at the same time he wanted something to call him by. He glanced over at Ray and watched the animated movements of his hands and the determined set of his face as he argued with Griffon, light catching in his eyes and making them shine even in the dim light of the bar.

Perhaps he’d ask tonight.

Ryan was startled out of his thoughts as a glass of amber liquid was set down before him. The waitress had given him another drink despite the fact he hadn’t asked for automatic refills like Geoff had. Confused, he picked up the glass and turned towards the waitress.

“I didn’t order this.” Ryan claimed as he began to hand the glass back to her, Ray and Griffon pausing their argument to see what was happening. The waitress shook her head.

“Complements of a woman from the bar.” She explained as she began to stack the empty glasses scattered on the table.

“Ooooh, you got some competition Ray.” Geoff joked as he took a sip of his drink. Ray laughed but Ryan still shot Geoff a glare before looking back at the glass. He picked it up and eyed it warily, raising it to his nose to smell the contents. Ray rolled his eyes and nudged the suspicious man.

“Just drink it Ry. I don’t care who it came from, it’s free.”

Ryan frowned. “But I don’t drink alcohol.” He argued, holding the glass out towards Griffon to take.

“It’s just a coke.” The waitress explained as she finished stacking all of the empty glasses. “The woman requested we give you another glass of whatever you were having.” Griffon smiled and pushed the glass back towards him. Ryan shrugged and finally took a sip of the drink. Certainly coke, but something faintly acrid in the taste that he wasn’t used to.

“Gross, I don’t think it’s diet.” He complained with a grimace. Geoff let out a groan.

“Oh just shut up and drink your damn soda.” The Kingpin ordered, clinking his own glass against Ryan’s in a one sided cheers. Ryan looked towards the bar to see if he could spot any woman looking back at their table but he saw no one. Shrugging he took another sip of the soda and continued listening to the conversation between Griffon and Ray.

* * *

No more than ten minutes pass and Ray’s feeling more uncomfortable by the second. Ever since Ryan had gotten the free drink he had been acting stranger. The villain’s hand was resting on Ray’s knee below the table as he watched Ray with a silent intensity. The hero could see he was staring out of the corner of his eye. Griffon was too wrapped up in showing him schematics from her phone and Geoff was leaning over his wife’s shoulder, distracted as well.

The hand on his knee wasn’t exactly out of character, Ryan often had his hands somewhere on Ray just be close to him but the grip was harsh and bruising. That and the focused gaze gave off an overly possessive vibe, even for Ryan.

Ray didn’t like the silence, didn’t like the hand on his leg that wouldn’t let go no matter how he shifted. Ryan’s other hand hadn’t stopped playing with his now empty glass, his finger running along the edge in a way that made Ray’s senses go into overdrive as warning sirens screamed in his head but he had no clue why.

Maybe he was imagining it. Maybe he was just tired, or the stifling air and crowded atmosphere of the bar was throwing him off. Whatever it was he wanted it to stop.

“I’m going to get some air.” Ray announced, standing abruptly. He let out a small sigh of relief as Ryan’s hand left him and allowed him to move away from the table. Geoff and Griffon barely glanced up, now bickering with each other over the blueprints on her phone. Griffon gave a little wave of her hand to let him know she at least somewhat heard him.

Ray glanced at Ryan one last time to see the man was still staring, unblinking. Ray nearly opened his mouth to say something before Ryan’s mouth quirked up into a smile and he raised his empty glass towards Ray as if to say ‘ _go on’_. Ray gave a small, wary smile in return before rushing out of the bar into the cool night air.

Ray stumbled past pairs of people who had stepped out for a smoke, following the edge of the building until it ended at the mouth of a barely lit alley. He walked a bit into the alley and leaned against the brick side wall of the bar. He closed his eyes and listened to the muffled voices of the patrons inside mixed with the clinking of glasses and the collision of pool balls. Letting out a breath he allowed the cool air to envelop him as he tuned out the background noise.

“Ah, there’s my darling rose.”

Ray’s eyes snapped open at the sound of Ryan’s voice. He turned and saw a broad shouldered silhouette at the entrance of the alley.

“Ryan?” Ray called out. The silhouette took a few steps closer, Ryan’s smiling face made suddenly visible by the dim light hanging from the brick wall of the bar. “I told you I’m fine, just getting some air.” Ray assured the man, smiling back. Ryan continued to walk towards him, his stride interspersed with small stumbles as the man wavered on his feet.

“But what kind of suitor would I be if I left my beloved unattended?” Ryan stepped closer to Ray, the hero’s brow quirking up.

“Suitor?” Ray repeated with a snort. “I know you like your fancy words but that’s a bit too renaissance, even for you.” Ryan moved closer to him, Ray taking a step back in surprise until his back hit the cool bricks behind him. “You okay there, Ry-bread?”

“Wonderful.” Came the gent’s answer, face close enough to Ray’s that he caught the faint sweet scent of coke laced with something else he couldn’t quite describe, something bitter and unfamiliar. “Now that I have you all to myself.” Ray chuckled again, this time with a bit uncertainty as Ryan observed him, a predatory glint in his eye. Ray suddenly noticed his pupils seemed unnaturally small, not even the darkness of the night sky affecting them, making the large icy blue of his irises unnerving.

“Come on, it’s not that bad hanging out with Geoff and Griffon.” Ray argued playfully, stiffening as Ryan raised his arms to brace his hands against the wall on either side of Ray, effectively trapping him. Ray raised his own arms, placing them on Ryan’s chest hoping the gent wouldn’t try to press even closer. Normally he’d be basking in the attention Ryan was giving him. But something still seemed off about him and Ray didn’t feel right about the situation.

“Ryan, I came out for air.” Ray reminded him. Ryan ignored him, leaning down to press his lips to Ray’s in a forceful kiss. Ray let out a surprised squeak, Ryan forcing his mouth open to deepen the kiss even more. Ray pushed against him, having nowhere to go with his back against the wall. Ray gasped for air when Ryan thankfully pulled away but the gent immediately moved to mouth at Ray’s throat, sucking and biting at the sensitive skin. Ray let out a breath and pushed against him again to no avail. “Just hold off for a sec, okay big guy?”

Ryan continued to ignore him, instead moving his hand from the wall to press on Ray’s shoulder, pinning the hero to the bricks. Ray winced as his shoulder blades dug into the hard wall behind him. Ryan pulled away from his neck and moved back to Ray’s mouth, not giving the younger a chance to even take a breath. But Ray had had enough. He opened his mouth slightly and quickly bit down on Ryan’s bottom lip, hard enough to draw blood.

Ryan jerked away, still pinning Ray to the wall with one hand as the other came up to touch his bleeding lip. Ray sighed at the sight, guilty at seeing Ryan bleed knowing he caused it.

“I’m sorry,” He started. “but you-”

A swift backhand had stars dancing in Ray’s vision, his cheek stinging and his head bruised from where it had connected with brick at the force of the slap. Ryan lowered his hand from where it had been hanging in the air to grip Ray’s face, fingers digging into his jaw and forcing the lad to look him in the eye.

“You would be wise to obey your king.” He snarled in Ray’s face. Ray’s features twisted in confusion. _King? What the hell was he-_

_Oh God._

The hero’s eyes widened in realization and fear as he finally grasped what was happening. He wasn’t dealing with Ryan anymore.

“ _No_.” He let out in a breath, his voice weak and cracking. He watched as the Mad King’s sneer curled into a sadistic grin at seeing the dawning realization on Ray’s face. “Ryan?”

“Ryan’s gone away.” The Mad King pressed closer into Ray, his voice sickly sweet and taunting. “It’s my turn to play with you.” The Mad King’s other hand that had been pinning Ray to the wall shifted down, teasingly skimming the edge of Ray’s pants. He dipped below the waistband and dug his fingers into Ray’s hip, the lad jerking at the touch. The hand on his jaw moved to wrap around his throat, the Mad King applying a warning pressure that made Ray gasp.

“ _Let me go_.” Ray choked out as he tried to push against the villain, only resulting in the hand around his throat tightening.

“We could have so much fun together.” The Mad King spoke as he tilted Ray’s head and leaned in even closer, his breath ghosting over Ray’s ear. “As long as you _behave_ , my rose.”

“I don’t want you.” Ray bit out. “I only want Ryan. Give me Ryan back.”

Ray gasped as his head was drawn back and then slammed into the bricks, the Mad King’s icy gaze meeting his as Ray fought to remain conscious.

“He’s not here anymore.” The villain repeated. “That idiot pushed me away for too long. He didn’t want me near you.” He told Ray with a smirk. He began to push his hand up under Ray’s shirt, fingers splaying on the hero’s ribs. “His mistake really. I was impatient and he was getting weak from fighting. All it took was one little push while he wasn’t concentrating hard enough.” The Mad King gave a little chuckle as Ray continued to squirm beneath his grasp. “He’s screaming right now.”

Ray froze and stared in wide-eyed horror at the Mad King’s heartless grin. The villain tilted his head and looked off to the side as if listening for a sound from far away. He chuckled again.

“He’s _screaming_.” He repeated, eyes darting back to Ray. “He doesn’t want me near you. But I don’t think that’s fair, do you? Why should he have all the fun?”

“ _Please_.” Ray pleaded. “Let me go.”

“But we’ve only just met, my dear. We have quite a lot of catching up to do.” The Mad King urged, once again pressing in to kiss Ray.

“You really want to do that _here_ though?” Ray cut in quickly. The Mad King froze and pulled back to study Ray, curious of the hero’s change in argument. “In a gross as shit alley. I expected better from _royalty_.”

The villain’s eyes narrowed at the accusation and he took a step away from Ray, hand still firmly around the hero’s throat.

“I mean, come _on_.” Ray went on. “What kind of suitor would you be if you fucked your beloved in an alley?” Throwing his words back at him made the Mad King’s mouth quirk into an amused little grin. He removed the hand from Ray’s throat, the hero taking in a breath of relief, before he grabbed Ray’s arm and began to drag him out of the alley.

“You make a good point, my little rose.” He commended. Ray’s mind was racing, plans of escape and various moves of self-defense running through his head as the pair of them left the alley. The Mad King was dragging them towards Ryan’s car parked in a lot down the block from the bar. Ray didn’t want to struggle, he would play nice for now. If he tried to get away when the moment wasn’t right then the Mad King would become even less hospitable. So Ray stumbled along with him, wondering when the right moment would come. And praying that it would come at all.

Apparently, the universe decided not to fuck him over that night.

He only heard the revving of a motor for a second before being ripped from the Mad King’s grasp. He was lifted up, a pair of arms securing themselves around him, as he watched the street lights and neon bar signs became a blur in the night around him. He and whoever grabbed him went speeding down the city streets. Just as he felt himself begin to slip from their grasp the person slowed to a stop. The let him go and he stumbled away, looking around at his surroundings to find that they had moved blocks away from the bar before his gaze finally landed on Griffon.

The retired hero was bent over, pressing buttons on a pair of what looked like roller skates on her feet. Ray recognized them from old videos he’d seen of Madame Chainsaw’s fights. Motorized skates that allowed her to cut though streets with speed and precision.

“Griffon?” Ray let out in a breath. She looked up as pieces of her skates folded in until they formed armored combat boots.

“Are you alright?” She asked as she straightened and reached out for Ray, touching his arms and face to check for injuries. “Did he hurt you?” Ray took her hands and held them away from him.

“I’m fine.” He assured her. Griffon sighed in relief and took out her phone.

“I’m sorry we didn’t get there sooner. We were so wrapped up in comparing blueprints that we didn’t notice how he was acting. But Geoff saw his eyes before he left the bar to go after you and said they were familiar and that something was wrong and that we needed to-”

“Griffon.” Ray cut in. “It’s okay.” Griffon nodded and began to dial a number on her phone.

“I need to get you out of here. Geoff’s handling Ryan but you need to be somewhere he can’t find you.”

“It’s not Ryan. It’s the Mad King.” Ray corrected. Griffon glanced at him with something akin to pity in her eyes but she nodded in agreement.

“I’ll call and have Jeremy pick you up. You probably shouldn't go back to your apartment but maybe-”

“I need to go back to the bar.” Griffon stared at him in disbelief.

“Absolutely not.”

“Griffon, Ryan’s been in control for years and now suddenly the Mad King takes over? Something happened and I’ll bet you it has to do with that drink he got. He was acting weird after he drank it.” Griffon looked torn, eyes glancing between Ray and back towards the direction of the bar. Ray heard a muffled voice pick up her call on the phone. She put the phone to her ear.

“One second, Jeremy.” She ordered before moving the phone away and looking at Ray. The young hero stared back resolutely in a challenge before Griffon finally sighed.

“I’ll go back and get the glass.” She compromised. “I have connections that can run tests. But you-” She pointed a finger at Ray. “Need to stay away and not leave Jeremy’s sight.” She ordered as she turned back towards the phone call to direct Jeremy to their location.

* * *

 

“Where is he!?” The Mad King bellowed, his crown returning to him after a throw that narrowly missed Geoff who was geared in pieces of his mech suit. “He’s mine! What did you do with him!?”

As the spar between the Kingpin and the Mad King took up the street outside the bar, patrons and those walking along the sidewalk had cleared the area with only a few stragglers taking photos on their phones. Geoff could hear sirens in the distance and he knew he’d either have to move this fight to somewhere more private or end up having to do a lot of damage control the next day. The CEO and corporate leader of a major company fighting in the street wasn’t exactly great for publicity.

“He’s _not_ yours.” Geoff told him, shooting a laser from the gauntlet on his arm. The Mad King deflected it off his crown, the beam redirecting to fire into a nearby payphone.

“He belongs with me.” The Mad King growled. “I’ll finish what that spineless louse started. This city will bow to me, to their king. And he,” He gave a wide toothy grin. “He shall be my queen.”

“Sorry to break it to you but you’re not doing shit to this city.” Geoff declared as he caught a flash of movement run past him and into the bar. _What was Griffon doing back? Where was Ray?_

“Oh Geoffrey.” Geoff glanced back at the crazed man. “How far you have fallen old friend. We could have ruled together, you and I.” The blur of his wife leaving the bar again left Geoff with some degree of relief as he turned back to the fight.

“Can’t say I agree with you there.” Was his response as he tapped on a sensor at his wrist, his boots whirring and glowing in response. “Now let’s say we move this party to somewhere a little more private.” Before the Mad King could respond Geoff lunged at him, rockets in his boots propelling him forward. He grabbed the Mad King before he had a chance to throw his crown and dragged him into the air.

It was going to be a long night.

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally going to have a few more scenes but it ended up running a little longer than I had expected so I split them. But this hopefully means I'll have the next chapter up soon.
> 
> ALSO if anyone was curious, the title of this story was inspired by the song (but more so the music video) "Genghis Khan" by Miike Snow and I highly recommend you go give that a listen

“ _A statement released by Monarch Labs claims no civilians were at risk for what they are labeling a spontaneous weapons testing_.”

Gavin sighed as he heard yet another report start playing in the next room. He finished steeping his mugs of tea and left the kitchen to enter the common area of the apartment. Gently setting one of the mugs on the coffee table he glanced over at Ray, trying hard to ignore the ring of bruises blossoming on his friend’s throat. Ray sat perched on the couch, clutching a pillow with his knees pulled up so his body curled in on itself. Gavin heard a quiet _thank you_ but the lad didn’t look away from the television or move to pick up the tea.

“ _As of now there are no reported injuries. Any damage to the city was fixed overnight as part of a new infrastructure initiative which was also announced in the corporation’s press release given early this morning by public relations chair, Meg Turney_.”

“Sorry your date got interrupted.” Ray mumbled, one of the first full sentences he had uttered that morning. Gavin flinched at Ray’s words and looked at his partner with pity in his eyes.

“Oh, X-Ray…” He let out in a breath. Ray still didn’t look away from the news report, watching with distant eyes as a woman with a practiced smile and pearly white teeth droned on about the incident.

“ _Still no word as to why the supposed weapons test was conducted in public, and by no other than Monarch Labs’ own CEO and newly appointed corporate head, or why the men were reportedly shouting profanities at one another_. _What are your thoughts on this, Robert_?” The female anchor turned to address her male counterpart as the camera panned out to frame them both sitting at the desk.

“ _I’ll be honest_ ,” He said with a fake chuckle as he flashed a matching bleached-white grin. “ _I can’t make heads or tails of it, Nancy. Certainly not the strangest thing to happen in recent events. But I think we can rest easy knowing we’re in the capable hands of such an advanced company. No doubt they’ll soon be hard at work with our heroes to make this city a safer place. Now, let’s take a look a look at the weather for this-_ ”

The television screen cut to black as the system was turned off, Gavin having heard enough of the pieced together reports that had been playing all morning on every news station imaginable. He tossed aside the remote and looked back at Ray who was still staring with vacant eyes at the blank screen. Gavin hadn’t seen Ray move from that spot since he had sat down early that morning and listened to the first news report on the incident. Since then he had only moved his arm to flick to other channels until he found somewhere else reporting on it.

Gavin suspected he was punishing himself for some reason, listening to it repeated over and over again. From what he had heard Ray was in no way at fault for what had happened but the young hero had always had a knack for the self-blame game.

Gavin and Meg had just been leaving the movie theater when she had received a panicked call from Griffon. Gavin remembered watching Meg’s face flit through about ten different emotions but by the time she had ended the call it had settled on a sort of panicked determination. She turned towards Gavin who had been watching the situation curiously and gave him an apologetic smile.

“I have to go.” She had said, waving her hand in the air to hail a taxi. “And so do you. Ray’s back at your apartment, you need to go be with him.” A yellow cab pulled up to the curb beside them and Meg opened its door.

“I don’t…I don’t understand.” Gavin said as he stared at Meg, brow knit in confusion. Meg hadn’t gotten into the cab and Gavin quickly realized with the way she was standing off to the side that the cab was meant for him. She took his arm and gently guided him into the cab.

“Something…bad happened and I need to do damage control. Ray can probably explain better but based on what I heard, he’s not going to be in the best place right now.” Gavin finally settled in the cab but before Meg could close the door he grabbed her hand.

“I’ll see you again, right?” He asked. Meg froze under Gavin’s pleading gaze.

“I don’t…” She looked torn as the hopeful Brit deflated the longer she hesitated. “I don’t know.” She finally confessed, honestly unsure where this conflict would leave them. Gavin let out a distressed whine and Meg quickly shook her head. “But I promise I won’t ghost you. You’ll hear from me again.”

Gavin held her hand for another moment before giving it a squeeze and finally letting go. Meg slammed the cab door shut and it took off to their apartment, Gavin trying over and over to call Ray on the way there. Ray never picked up which only served to send Gavin into an even deeper panic.

When he finally burst into the apartment he was expecting the worst so the unnerving silence that met him set him on edge.

“Ray?” He called out as he closed the door behind him. He stood still and listened, straining for a sound in the dark apartment. Meg said he would be here, didn’t she? “Where are you, Ray?”

“ _Gavin_?” There it was, just barely. A whispered response from down the hall that Gavin went sprinting after. He ducked into Ray’s room and found the hero sitting cross legged on the bed. His clothes and hair were disheveled and he watched Gavin with eyes wide with shock.

“What the hell happened? Meg got a call and said something bad…” Gavin trailed off as Ray continued to stare at him, silent and frozen on the bed. Gavin took a step towards him. “Ray?”

Ray’s mouth opened but only a small, strangled sound came out before tears began to spill from his eyes. Gavin rushed over to the bed and embraced his friend, holding him as sobs wracked his body.

They sat like that for hours, Ray crying in Gavin’s arms. Ray hadn’t been crying before Gavin got there, he knew that. His eyes hadn’t been bloodshot, there were no tear tracks. But the heavy emotions of losing a friend and then losing a lover in such a short interval were slamming into him all at once. He couldn’t seem to stop. He would cry for a period of time and then grow silent for a bit. But before long the tears would flow again, the strained breath and shivers returning as the dark apartment filled with his cries.

Gavin held him through it all, whispering nonsensical comforts to him until the hero cried himself into exhaustion and passed out. Gavin fell asleep beside him but woke up to an empty bed. Wandering out towards the common area and the sounds of the television he found Ray sitting on the couch watching the early morning news reports. Gavin didn’t end up having to ask what had happened because every major network told him what he needed to know.

Gavin listened to the first report in shock but as he turned to question Ray about it, the dead look in the hero’s eyes made the words stick in his throat. So instead Gavin made his way to the kitchen and texted Meg looking for details to fill in the cracks. As promised the assistant didn’t ignore him but only gave him the information she deemed necessary.

Ryan was sick.

Ryan made a mistake.

Ryan was going to stay away from Ray.

Now Gavin was left with a catatonic hero who wouldn’t stop staring into space as he clutched his pillow. Gavin sipped at his tea and watched him for a moment before taking a seat next to him on the couch.

“X-Ray…” Gavin spoke softly. “Look at me, buddy.”

Surprisingly, Ray turned and looked at Gavin but he didn’t look him in the eyes. Gavin could tell, Ray was looking at his ear. It was close enough to pass for some people but Gavin knew the difference. Ray was expressionless, staring at Gavin and waiting for him to speak. He probably thought Gavin was going to criticize him, spit out the token _I told you so_ , so what Gavin told him next had Ray blinking in surprise with the first trace of emotion he had shown all morning.

“Are you still in love with him?” Gavin asked. Ray finally looked at his eyes and his mouth turned down in a small frown.

“I never said I loved him.” Ray pointed out, voice cracking from the long night of crying.

“But you did…” Gavin argued. “And you still do, don’t you?”

Ray looked like he wanted to say something before he shook his head and turned back to staring at the black screen of the television. “It doesn’t matter.” He answered.

“It does though. You’re a smart man, Ray-”

“I’m a fucking idiot is what I am.” Gavin frowned and smacked him lightly on the arm for the interruption.

“Ray if you still love him after what he did then somehow you’re finding reason to forgive him to some degree.”

“Because it wasn’t his fault.” Ray snapped. Gavin didn’t flinch, just waited to for Ray to calm down and continue. Ray let out a sigh. “It wasn’t his fault.” He repeated.

“Ray,” Gavin spoke carefully. “Meg said Ryan was sick.” Ray looked away and clutched the pillow tighter. “What did she mean by that?”

“Ryan doesn’t like violence. He doesn’t like hurting people.” Ray explained. “But sometimes he loses control and becomes...not himself. It’s a mental thing.”

“Why did he lose control?” Gavin asked. “This time, I mean. He seemed insane this time.”

“I think it was something he drank.” Ray offered, a flash of determination in his eyes. He dropped the pillow to the side and Gavin smiled as he watched Ray pick up the tea in front of him. “Someone at the bar gave him a free drink and a few minutes later he was acting weird.” Ray took a sip of the tea, slightly more animated than before. He had done his crying, gotten the emotions he had bottled up the whole night out of his system. Now he wanted to act and Gavin was helping him do it.

“Who was the drink from?” Gavin asked.

“We don’t know,” Ray answered. “But Griffon said she would go back and grab the glass to run tests.”

“Alright.” Gavin nodded, thoughts running through his head of next steps and strategies. “So what do we do until then?” Ray thought for a moment before chugging his tea, slamming his mug back on the coffee table, and rising from the couch.

“I’m gonna talk to Ryan.” He declared, making his way to the front door of the apartment as Gavin jumped up after him.

“Woah now, are you sure that’s the best idea?” Gavin asked, grabbing Ray’s arm to slow his pursuit. “Meg said that Ryan was going to stay away from you. He may not want to see you.”

“Tough shit, he owes me a conversation after what happened.” Ray grumbled, searching for the keys to his bike and shoes to throw on. Gavin pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, forcing away an oncoming migraine. Ray’s mood had certainly improved but the misery seemed to have been replaced with what Gavin recognized as Ray’s familiar stubbornness.

“Why don’t you shower first?” Gavin pleaded. “Or at least change your clothes. You’re running on about two hours of sleep here, just take a breather.” Ray tugged at his arm but Gavin held on tight. “You don’t even know where he is. He could’ve fled the damn country for all you know.”

Gavin saw a glint of desperation in Ray’s eyes but the lad finally conceded and stopped trying to pull away. Ray led out a noise of frustration and was tugging at his hair when a thought suddenly occurred.

“You said you were talking to Meg, right?” He asked, turning to Gavin. Gavin shrugged and pulled his phone from his pocket.

“Yeah, texting.” He answered.

“Ask her where he is.” Ray ordered causing Gavin to snort in disbelief.

“She’s not gonna tell me that.” Gavin argued. “Ryan probably doesn’t want to be found.”

“Say that you want to know so you can keep me away from him.” Ray offered. Gavin paused and narrowed his eyes at Ray.

“You want me to lie to her?” Ray grimaced, having the decency to look a little ashamed at what he was asking of his friend.

“Well…I mean it’s not really a lie. You probably _don’t_ want me near him.” Ray reached out and grabbed Gavin’s free hand, holding it tightly with his own. “ _Please_.” Gavin stared at Ray for a moment before finally letting out a sigh of defeat.

“Yeah alright.” He agreed. “Go shower and I’ll text her.” In Gavin’s opinion, the grin on Ray’s face made the whole situation worth it as the hero sprinted in the direction of his room.

“You’re the best, Vav.” Ray called out over his shoulder as Gavin walked over and slumped back onto the couch.

“I fucking better be.” He called back as he pulled up Meg’s contact and started a new message.

 

* * *

 

His apartment.

_The fucker was hiding in his goddamn apartment._

Ray was caught between relief and irritation at how easy it would be to find Ryan as he sped through the city streets on his bike.

The fight between Kingpin and the Mad King thankfully hadn’t lasted long. After Geoff had dragged the Mad King away from public eye they continued their spar in one of the deserted lots on the edge of the city. The Mad King may have had his crown but with no other resources it was honestly no match for Geoff’s suit.

Geoff had managed to knock him out, but rather than bringing him home right then and there, he waited. He took a seat on a few stacked cinderblocks he found on the ground and waited for Ryan to come to. And when the CEO finally groaned and blinked wearily up at the starry sky Geoff explained to him how he just ruined what could have been the best thing in his life. Ryan had laid on the ground, staring up at the stars as tears silently slipped from his eyes.

Eventually they called a car to pick them up, Geoff not wanting to fly back and leave Ryan alone, and they made their way back to the city. Ryan was on the phone immediately making calls to Meg and other contacts to set up damage control for the morning. He left explicit orders that he would be in his apartment for the foreseeable future and that under no circumstances should Ray be allowed near him.

Even for a hero, Ray was never much for listening to orders.

Meg had been a little hesitant in telling Gavin where her boss was but after a few persuasive texts and a tiny bit of begging from Gavin she had given in. Ray honestly didn’t deserve Gavin, the lad had done so much for him lately.

He knew the way to Ryan’s apartment like the back of his hand so the problem wasn’t so much as finding him as it was getting past the front door. Or more specifically, getting past EDGAR.

“EDGAR unlock the door.” Ray ordered, pounding his fist on the apartment door. A curious neighbor down the hall poked his head out of his apartment but a piercing glare from Ray had him ducking back inside. “I know you can hear me.” Ray accused as he turned back towards the door. He was greeted by silence and for a moment he began to wonder whether Ryan had turned EDGAR off.

“I have been instructed to not let you into the apartment.” The AI’s monotonous voice poured into the hallway from a speaker above the door and Ray let out a sigh of relief.

“Come on, just let me in.” The hero pleaded, kicking at the door like a child throwing a tantrum.

“I’m afraid I cannot go against his orders.” _His orders_. Ray snorted and leaned against the door, pressing his forehead against the cool wood as he closed his eyes. Ryan had given EDGAR specific orders to not let him in. Of course he did. Ray stood in the hall, not knowing what to do but unwilling to give up and leave.

If this had been a normal apartment Ray could’ve picked the lock or maybe even kicked the door down with the right equipment. But Ray knew Ryan’s apartment, the engineer took great pride in the reinforcements he had made as not-quite-legal additions to the space. Steel lined doors, bullet proof glass in the windows, cameras, intricate locks, and an AI to watch over it all. EDGAR was to Ryan what ORF was to Hilda, something he considered his greatest achievement, even over his crown.

Ray’s eyes shot open and he blinked. Ray had often asked Ryan questions about EDGAR because he loved to hear the villain talk with such joy about the AI. Now small little facts about EDGAR’s coding were stuck in Ray’s head and right now a very specific feature was coming to mind.

“EDGAR, I know your coding.” Ray said suddenly, picking his head up off of the door. “You’re programmed to do what’s statistically best for Ryan even if it goes against a direct order.”

“That is correct.” Came the AI’s response. Ray began to grin.

“So what if what’s best for Ryan is for you to open this fucking door.” Ray tried. EDGAR had been around for a long time, he and developed and adapted to know best for Ryan’s health, whether it be physical, mental, or emotional. Ray was met with silence and he bounced on his feet, his grin faltering as he started to doubt his idea. “EDGAR?”

“Calculating.”

“Calculate faster!”

“Analysis complete. Unlocking front door.” Ray let out a sigh of relief as he heard the soft clicks of the door’s locks.

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a little shorter than the others but it was supposed to be in the previous one so forgive me.
> 
> Things are about to get heavy folks.

“EDGAR, where is he?” Ray whispered as he let the front door fall shut behind him. The lights in the kitchen were on but Ray couldn’t hear any sounds coming from within. Of course, if Ryan had been in the kitchen he surely would have heard Ray arguing with EDGAR in the hall.

“Bedroom, sir.” EDGAR answered through the front hall speakers. Ray toed off his shoes and started to make his way through the apartment. Passing through Ryan’s living room area he took note of the wooden target Griffon had gifted him hanging on the wall with several sizeable knifes imbedded in it. Ray stared at it for a moment before moving on down the hall.

Finally reaching the bedroom he carefully pushed open the partially shut door. The room was darker than the rest of the apartment, Ryan having made the large windows tint and block out the midday sun. Ray’s eyes finally adjusted as they settled on a form laying on the bed covered by blankets. The form moved slightly as Ryan’s chest rose and fell with steady breaths. Ray walked over to him and looked down at the sleeping villain. He looked quite peaceful. Ray stalked around the bed to carefully retrieve a pillow from the other side.

“Rise and shine motherfucker.” Ray deadpanned as swung the pillow up and brought it down onto Ryan with a fair amount of force. The gent jolted up in bed, instincts kicking in and forcing him into a defensive pose with his hands raised. He blinked a few times, eyes and brain adjusting to being awake, until he finally focused on Ray who was tossing his pillow weapon to the side and crawling onto the bed.

“Ray?” Ryan’s voice cracked. “How the hell did you-”

“Get into the apartment? EDGAR let me in. Because he’s smart.” Ray fixed him with a judgmental glare. “Unlike _some_ people.”

“Ray, you shouldn’t be here.” Ryan warned holding his hands up to stop Ray from crawling closer to him on the bed. Ray stopped and leaned back so he was kneeling next to the villain.

“That’s fine.” Ray responded, staring down at him with his heightened angle. Ryan paused and blinked in surprise.

“It is?” He asked hesitantly. Ray shrugged.

“Yeah sure. Let’s just go somewhere else to talk.” Ryan had to force himself not to roll his eyes at the lad.

“Ray, that’s not what I meant and you know it. You shouldn’t be here with _me_.”

“Really? Because I think this is exactly where I should be.” Before Ryan could react Ray lifted a leg and swung it around the older man’s lap, straddling and pinning him in place so he couldn’t escape. “And I’m not leaving until we have ourselves a little chat.”

“ _Ray_.” Ryan warned, moving to push the hero off of him.

“ _Ryan_.” The hero parroted back, mocking the other man’s serious tone as he grabbed Ryan’s shoulders to steady himself. “Let me tell you what’s gonna happen here because I am done with other people deciding what’s best for me.” Ryan let out a frustrated noise but stopped trying to force Ray off his lap. “Last night…that wasn’t you-”

“That doesn’t matter-”

“Nope.” Ray clapped a hand over Ryan’s mouth to silence him. “I’m talking right now.” Ryan glared at Ray but gave a slight nod for him to go on. “You and I both know that the Mad King is not you. And yes, I know, he’s a part of you. But when I signed on for this relationship I knew I’d be getting the both of you. I knew the risks and I stayed anyway. And let me tell you something Ryan. I’m a fucking adult and it’s not for you to decide what is best for me. So if you want to send me away and hide in your apartment and never see me again then so be it, I will stay away. But you need have a better reason than that stupid fucking king or so help me God I will end you.” Ray finally removed his hand from Ryan’s mouth. When the villain simply stared at him Ray rolled his eyes. “You can talk now.”

“Ray, he was going to…he almost…” Ryan kept trailing off, choking on the unspoken word that hung in the air between them. His hands gripped the sheets, unwilling to allow himself to touch Ray in any way.

“I know.” Ray spoke quietly, letting Ryan know he didn’t have to say it. “I know.”

“So are we just supposed to ignore that?" Ryan questioned in disbelief. Ray gave a small smile and cupped Ryan’s face with his hands

“I already told you-”

“Yeah, you told me. Told me how you knew what you were getting into with dating me. But did you really?” Ryan finally pushed the younger man off of him and rose from the bed, Ray following after. Ryan paced the room, tugging at his hair as Ray watched. “Ray, I’ve never done this. I’ve never had to deal with romantic ties when I let the Mad King seep through the cracks. I know I promised he wouldn’t touch you but I had no idea that he would…want you in that way.” Ryan stopped walking and turned to face Ray.

“What can I say, I’m a hot commodity.” Ray snarked, mouth quirking up into a smile that faltered under the pained look Ryan was giving him.

“He’s really just a version of me. So what if what he wanted…what if what he wants is…” Ryan searched for the right words. “What if we want the same things?” Ray froze and stared at Ryan with wide eyes.

“Shut up.” Ray muttered, eyes narrowing. “I know what you’re doing, now stop.”

“What if that’s all it is?” Ryan ignored him and kept going. “Lowered inhibitions. What if he’s just willing to commit my deepest desires, huh?”

“ _Shut up_.” Ray repeated with more force as he took a step towards Ryan. Ray saw what he was doing, shifting the blame. His new tactic was to get Ray to hate _him_ , hate Ryan instead of the Mad King.

“What if I actually want to hurt you, Ray? Do you seriously want to stay with someone who deep down wants to slap you and choke you and-”

“SHUT UP!” Ray shouted as he slapped Ryan as hard as he could across the face. The strike sent the older man reeling back as he was caught off guard, stumbling into the dresser behind him. Ryan held a hand up to his face, hovering over the red mark developing on his cheek, and looked at Ray who was breathing hard and shaking out his hand. “Consider us even for that slap now.”

The two stared at each other, the tense atmosphere surrounding them smothering and heavy. It seemed like hours that they stood there in that darkened bedroom, a stand-off that only ended when Ryan let out a broken sigh and sunk to the floor, leaning back against the dresser. He pulled his knees up to his chest and let his head drop between them. Ray watched him fall and after a moment he made his way over and joined him on the floor, hugging his knees to his chest as well. The pair of them sat side by side, the silence around them only broken by the muffled ticks of a clock somewhere out in the hall and the whirr of the air conditioning.

“If Griffon and Geoff hadn’t been there…”

“Stop.” Ray begged. “Just stop.” There was no point. Carrying on with the argument of ‘what if?’ was getting them nowhere. Ray wanted to move on, fix the cracks but keep moving forward. Ryan has intent on dwelling in the past, convinced he hadn’t been punished enough for it yet.

“Why are you so okay with all of this?” Ryan lifted his head, his hands curling into fists as he stared at the wall ahead of him. “How are you-”

“Who said I was okay?” Ryan turned his head to look at Ray. The response had been so quiet, so broken. The hero stared ahead, unblinking as he wrapped his arms tighter around himself.

“Then why-”

“Because it’s in the past, there’s nothing we can do about it now. We need to focus on moving on and the problem here isn’t you, it’s the other guy.” Ryan opened his mouth to object but it died when Ray sent him a warning glare. “The other guy only comes out when you lose control.”

“Yeah, that’s been something else I’m having trouble with.” Ryan muttered.

“What?”

“I don’t know what triggered it this time.” Ryan explained, absentmindedly tugging at his hair again. “The last time I had an episode was when I was in car crash _years_ ago. The hospital I was brought to put me on heavy meds and I nearly killed a nurse.”

“ _He_ nearly killed a nurse.” Ray corrected quietly. Ryan stopped tugging and looked at him again, watching as Ray glanced over and gave a small smile before looking at the wall again. “I think it was that drink. Griffon’s running tests on it.”

“Oh.” Ryan said simply. There was something in his voice, a tinge of anxiety like he still wasn’t content, that made Ray turn and give him a curious look.

“What?” Ray questioned. Ryan didn’t respond right away and Ray began to think he wasn’t going to share at all.

“What if nothing triggered it?” Ryan finally spoke, his brows knitting together with worry. “What if I start having random episodes like that?”

“Then we deal with it together.” Ray answered immediately, no trace of hesitance in his voice. Ryan thought it over for a moment before he gave a little hum in response and they lapsed back into silence, this time a little more comfortable than before.

They sat like that for a while. In the quiet darkness of the bedroom a villain and hero sat side by side and silently wondered if they were delusional in thinking this could continue. They wondered if they were ever going to make this work, keep each other safe, keep themselves sane.

With the windows so heavily tinted the passage of time was marked only by the ticks of the clock in the hall if one were to bother counting. But the pair was fine with not knowing. They were in no rush to return to the world, more content to sit and listen to the other breathing steadily in and out. At some point Ray reached over and took Ryan’s hand. They continued to sit there, now with fingers interlocked and feeling a little more connected than before.

“Why did you start calling me Rose?” Ray asked softly. He knew the answer, Ryan had told him the first time he had ever used the nickname. It wasn’t just because Ray adored the flower. Ryan’s lip twitched, like he was about to smile but then stopped himself.

“Because your beauty reminds me of its petals and you’re as sweet as its smell.” He answered, just as soft, his words echoing the answer he gave the first time Ray had asked. Ray gave a small nod.

“I remember there being something else.” The hero prompted. Ryan finally smiled, a small one, as he chuckled at Ray’s stubbornness.

“And that your strength is like a rose’s thorns, discreet and deadly.” Ryan went on. “And severely underestimated.” Ray hummed, satisfied with the answer.

“I’m not fragile. You need to stop treating me like I am.” Ryan squeezed the small hand he held in his own.

“I suppose so.”

Suddenly, like so many nights ago, the atmosphere was once again shattered by the pixel sounds of Super Mario. Ray sighed and reluctantly let go of Ryan’s hand to answer his phone assuming it would be Gavin worried about his extended absence. Ryan shifted a bit and started skimming his fingers up and down Ray’s arm, the lad leaning into the touch as he answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey Ray, it’s Griffon. How are you feeling, sweetheart?” Ray paused, having to adjust from not checking caller ID thinking it would be Gavin.

“I’m alright.” Ray answered after a moment, smiling a bit at the genuine concern he heard in her voice.

“Who is it?” Ryan asked, nodding when Ray answered it was Griffon.

“Am I interrupting something?” Ray heard the retired hero ask.

“Nah, Ryan and I are done talking.”

“You and Ryan…oh. OH!” Ray could hear her confusion shift to a worried and finally happy surprise. Ray turned on the speaker so Ryan could hear. “You guys talked?”

“Yeah,” Ray said, glancing at Ryan. The villain gave him a tired smile. “Things are better now.”

“I’m so happy for you.” Griffon beamed. “I mean, you can be damn sure Geoff and I aren’t going to let this whole thing slide that easily and we’ll be having a talk with you both later but still, that’s good.” Ryan and Ray both laughed at the motherly tone Griffon had taken on.

“Thanks.” Ray said, sarcasm edging his voice. “Is that all you called for?”

“Oh! Right, so I had my contacts run tests on samples from that glass Ryan had been drinking from and the results just came back.” Ray tensed and glanced at Ryan who looked equally as anxious.

“Anything weird?” Ray asked hesitantly.

“You could say that. There was a compound mixed in with the coke, something we’ve never seen before but we were able to break it down and it’s…well, it’s…” Griffon trailed off, sounding baffled by what she was about to say.

“Griffon, what is it?” Ryan pushed, eager to find out what was in his drink.

“Imagine a shot of vodka but about ten times as potent and practically tasteless…and odorless.” There was silence as Griffon’s words settled in the air.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.” Ray muttered.

“So you’re telling me I basically did the equivalent of downing ten shots of vodka?” Ryan asked, eyes wide in disbelief. “No wonder I fucking lost it.”

“Alright, but this is a good thing!” Ryan shot Ray a questioning look and Ray backpedaled to explain himself. “I mean, now we know something triggered the Mad King being let loose and it wasn’t just random.”

“Sure but that doesn’t explain how the hell a compound like that got in my drink.” Ryan pointed out. “Or how it even exists.”

“Well actually,” Ryan and Ray turned back to the phone as Griffon’s voice once again filtered in. “There’s one more thing. We found partial prints on the glass too. There was an extra set that didn’t match Ryan. We even ran it against the waitress and bartender on staff but it didn’t match them either.

“So we don’t know who they belong to?” Ray asked, deflating slightly at the loss of a lead.

“Well no, we found a match…but you’re not going to like it.”

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyyyy, so tumblr user regularlyfe drew some amazing concept art for pieces of Geoff's mech suit that you can see here:
> 
> http://regularlyfe.tumblr.com/post/155464555528/madqueenreigns-so-one-of-my-favorite-fanfics
> 
> You should check out their other art too because they draw stuff from a bunch of different fandoms like jacksepticeye, undertale, gravity falls, etc.

“Greetings!” The sound of the lab door opening followed by ORF’s robotic voice had Hilda looking up from her lab bench, letting the circuit board she had been fiddling with fall to the table.

“Gavin?” Hilda spoke as she watched the British hero take a step into the lab, ORF buzzing happily around his head. The man took a step to the side revealing his partner behind him. “Ray.” The normally laid-back hero looked incredibly twitchy as he took a few hesitant steps into the lab. His hands plucked absentmindedly at the draw strings that pulled the collar of his large green hoodie taut. Gavin was quiet, moving to stand off to the side with his arms crossed as he allowed Ray and Hilda to face each other.

“Hey.” Ray greeted quietly, voice cracking slightly as he stared down at the floor. “So I know I’m probably the last person you want to see-”

“No no no!” Hilda interrupted quickly as she stepped around her work and moved closer to the two heroes. She approached Ray slowly, like approaching a wounded, panicked animal. “I saw what happened on the news.” She told him. His eyes snapped up to look at her.

“You did?” He looked so tired, deep purple rings underneath his eyes. Hilda nodded slowly.

“Yeah, I mean I only got pieces of the story but I think I got enough. The Mad King went berserk, didn’t he?” Hilda heard Gavin let out a dry chuckle somewhere off to the side as Ray shrugged.

“You could say that.”

“Were you with him when it happened?”

“Yeah.” Ray swallowed before giving a small nod. “He uh, he just went insane.” Hilda let out a sigh and took a step closer to the lad but stopped again when he tensed.

“Are…are you okay?”

“Um…yeah. I mean no, but yeah.” His brows knit together. “I will be.” He finally settled on the answer. Hilda gave a small smiled and tilted her head to the side.

“Good.” Hilda responded with a decisive nod. She made her way back over to the lab bench, picking up the abandoned circuit board. “I mean, this is probably the worst moment for an I-told-you-so but I kind of did.”

“Yeah.” Ray muttered, nodding in agreement with his lips pressed in a tight line. “Yeah, you did.”

“So what are you guys here for?” She asked, turning on one of her soldering irons to heat up as she looked at the circuit more closely under a magnifying glass.

“Well I just…” Ray thought over his words for a moment. “I wanted to talk to you about what happened, at the banquet-”

“Oh, Ray.” Hilda looked up and held up her free hand to stop him. “It’s all good. Seriously.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I mean I guess I shouldn’t have attacked you like that.” She admitted, turning her attention back to the circuit. “It was all his fault anyway, brainwashing you like a puppet.”

“You think he brainwashed me?” Ray’s eyebrows raised in question.

“Well…no.” Hilda said after a moment. “But he’s a smooth talker. He probably fed you all the lies you wanted to hear.” She looked back up to shoot him a happy grin. “But everything’s good now. You guys broke up-” Hilda paused and her grin turned to a frown. “You broke up right?”

“Yeah.” Ray answered softly, plucking at the hoodie strings again as he looked off to the side. “We did.”

“Great.” The engineer smiled again and turned back to her circuit. “And don’t worry, there’s no way he’ll get away with this. I mean he’s done horrible things in the past but this one was public. The company’s perfect little CEO fucked up _bad_.”

“Yeah, it’s weird.” Gavin spoke for the first time since he had entered the lab. Hilda glanced over and saw he was examining the scraps of failed projects she kept on a separate table. “I mean, he’s never slipped up like this before.”

“Well, a little bit of alcohol can make people do stupid things.”

“How do you know he was drunk?” Hilda froze and looked fully over at Gavin. As if he could feel her eyes on him the hero finally looked up, eyes questioning. She shook her head slightly and shrugged.

“They were outside of a bar, weren’t they?” Gavin nodded slowly and placed a fried detonator he had been playing with back on the able.

“Sure, along with about twenty other shops and places.” He looked back at her again, his eyes now cold and calculating. “Why assume they came out of the bar?”

“I don’t know, Vav.” Hilda looked away from his critical glare, distracting herself with the equipment on her table. “Because I’m smart, I connect the dots. It seemed likely-”

“Ryan doesn’t drink.” Ray’s voice broke through to her. Hilda looked up to see the other hero staring at her with a venom in his eyes that hadn’t been there before.

“What was that?” She asked, voice quiet.

“I said Ryan doesn’t drink.” Ray didn’t seem tired anymore, not in how he carried himself at least. He wasn’t fidgety or apologetic. He was angry. “Do you know _why_ he doesn’t drink?”

“Because alcohol makes you slip up. And that’s what happened, right?” Hilda looked between the two heroes staring her down. “He slipped up and you saw the real him.”

“I saw the other him.” Hilda’s eyes narrowed.

“What are you talking about?”

“The Mad King and Ryan Haywood aren’t the same people.” Gavin clarified, walking over towards his partner. “And Ryan puts in quite a bit of effort making sure the Mad King goes nowhere near Ray.” He paused to let it sink in as Hilda stared at him silently. “Unfortunately someone managed to spike Ryan’s drink and make him lose control enough for the other guy to take over. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that now, would you?”

“I don’t-”

“Except you do.” Gavin shot back. Hilda’s mouth hung open as she searched for words to defend herself.

“Fingerprints.” Ray muttered, not wanting to hear any more of the half-baked excuses Hilda was coming up with. Hilda’s mouth snapped shut and she stared at Ray and Gavin with wide eyes. “Was your personal vendetta with Ryan seriously worth the damage he could have caused?” Ray tugged at the collar of his hoodie, loosening it to show the ring of darkening bruises on his throat. “The damage he _did_ cause?”

“Personal vendetta?” Hilda finally found her voice. “He’s the enemy!” Ray rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, and we fight him when he’s being a villain.”

“He’s _always_ a villain.”

“And _we’re_ always heroes but you don’t see him chucking bombs at our apartment, do you?” Gavin argued. Hilda let out a frustrated noise and gestured at Ray’s throat.

“Those bruises should be evidence enough that he will always be a menace to society. No matter what name he’s using.”

“ _Ryan_ didn’t do this. _Ryan_ has never touched me. _Ryan_ is now self-destructive because he hurt me.” Ray’s voice rose with every sentence, emphasizing every mention of his name to drill it into her head. “And it’s all because you made him down the equivalent of ten shots.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.” Hilda claimed, shaking her head.

“It doesn’t make sense because you never bother to fucking listen to anyone other than yourself!” Ray snapped. Gavin placed a calming hand on his shoulder. It was more for Ray’s benefit than Hilda’s, making sure the lad didn’t stress himself into passing out. Ray took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Listen, you need to talk to Ryan-”

“No way am I doing that.”

“You are.” He cut in, eyes snapping open to send her a warning glare. “Because Ryan and I are still together and as long as we are you need to make an effort to understand why you can _never_ pull the shit that you did ever again.”

 

* * *

 

The elevator ride up to the top floor of Monarch Labs was filled with the incessant tapping of Hilda’s foot. The door had opened part way up but one look at the fuming woman had the man stuttering out _I’ll just take the stairs_. The engineer wasn’t the happiest about the conversation she was meant to have with her boss and even less happy about the fact that she had to do it alone. Gavin had dragged Ray home to force the lad to sleep so she had no buffer against the man she only had reason to consider an enemy.

The elevator doors opened with a ding and she made her way down the hall, passing by Ryan’s trusted second in command sitting at her desk outside his office.

“Mr. Haywood isn’t seeing anyone at the moment.” Meg called out, glancing up from her work before rising from her seat once she saw Hilda wasn’t stopping.

“Yeah, well he’s going to see me.” Hilda said, brushing past the petite assistant. She marched up to the CEO’s door and pounded on it with her fist. “Open up, asshole!”

“He’s really not in the best-” Meg’s warning died on her tongue as the door opened to reveal a very exhausted looking Ryan.

“Hilda?” He blinked in surprise at the sight of her, opening the door wider.

“Oh, so you _do_ know my name.” Hilda remarked.

“I told her you weren’t-”

“It’s fine, Meg.” Ryan cut her off and the assistant made her way back to her desk, not before shooting Ryan one last worried glance. Ryan stepped aside, allowing Hilda to enter the office.

“You look like shit.” She observed as she brushed past him, Ryan closing the door behind him and walking back over to his desk that was covered in various blue prints.

“Well, that’s just what happens when you’re running off an hour or two of sleep.” Ryan grumbled as he sunk into his chair, propping his head up with his hands as he stared at Hilda tiredly.

“Why’d you even come into work?” She asked, causing Ryan to let out a snort.

“Because I have a job to do. I’m not going to let my personal life interfere with that.”

This close to his desk Hilda could more clearly see the blueprints scattered across the surface. They were projects, none belonging to Ryan. She recognized them from other labs, from the engineers that worked around her. For a moment she was struck by the realization that Ryan actually did have a job, that he wasn’t CEO because he killed or threatened his way to the top. He had to supervise projects, approve grants, oversee public relations and budgets and God knows what else.

“You wanna explain this whole Mad King bullshit to me because Ray and Gavin were making even less sense than usual.” Hilda stood in the center of the office, arms crossed as she waited for an answer. Ryan stared at her for a moment before letting out a sigh.

“It’s an exchange of power.” He began, rubbing at his eyes as he stifled a yawn. “I lock him away and I’m in control. The second I lose that control he comes through and locks me away instead. Small moments of mayhem make it easier to keep him at bay. Keeps the edge off.”

“So, what? The real Ryan Haywood is really some perfect angel who could do no wrong with the devil trapped inside him?” Hilda asked, disbelief clear in her voice. Ryan snorted again, chuckling a bit.

“I mean, I’m still an asshole.” He admitted. “But I’m an asshole that would rather stab a pillow than a puppy.” Hilda tensed slightly at the picture he was painting. Was the difference between his personalities really that severe?

“And we’re just supposed to let you have those _moments of mayhem_?” Hilda repeated his phrase as she bent her fingers to make little air quotes. Ryan shrugged and picked up a pen, moving back to the notes he had been making on one of the project schematics.

“Unless you want a repeat of last night, yes.” He didn’t remind her of the details but the looming threat, or warning rather, that Ray could be hurt again was certainly there.

“We can’t just let you go around putting civilians in danger.” Hilda argued. “Honestly, I don’t understand how you and Ray made your relationship work. Were you even still fighting each other?”

“Not any more than usual.” Ryan mused. “And by that I mean not really at all.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Ryan shrugged again and Hilda held back a frustrated groan at the nonchalant movement.

“I suppose you could label what we do as fighting but to be honest there isn’t much direct combat involved and Ray’s realized that.” He clarified as he moved another paper into the general “finished” zone that had formed on his desk.

“But the first time we fought you-”

“That was the first time. Most of the fighting I do as the Mad King is explosions and shooting things with various rays. Usually it’s just my way of testing a new weapon. X-Ray and Vav intervene to prevent civilian casualties and injuries.”

“So you’re saying you want free range to cause minor chaos with the insurance of X-Ray and Vav swooping in to do damage control?” Ryan finally looked up, his cool blue eyes meeting hers.

“Exactly. Then we can all come away happy.” Hilda looked thoughtful for a moment before she suddenly glared at him. Ryan frowned. “What-”

“Why’d you mess with ORF?” She questioned. Ryan’s eyes widened and he let his head drop onto the desk with a thump.

“ _Oh my fucking God_.” He groaned, voice muffled by the desk. “I apologized for that. What more do you want?”

“A raise.” Ryan picked his head up from the desk and narrowed his eyes at her.

“What?”

“You can start with a raise.” She paused. “And removing those codes you hid in ORF’s hardware.” She added. He raised a brow at her.

“I’ll do the second one but the first needs to be discussed with the CFO.” His eye twitched. “I also don’t appreciate the extortion for money, no matter the circumstances.”

“I’ll take it.” Hilda decided, nodding her head.

“Anything else?” He asked, turning back to the work on his desk.

“Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you.” She answered with teasing grin. Silence fell between them as Hilda shifted from one foot to the other. “So theoretically if I was currently making something along the lines of a truth serum would you-”

“I’m not taking random medication.” He stopped her immediately, not even looking up from the blueprints.

“Right. So I’m just supposed to trust you then, is that it?”

“Ray and Gavin trust me.” Hilda was silent so Ryan glanced up to see her frowning. He put the pen back down and stared at her. “You think they’re just stupid boys, don’t you.”

“I don’t.” Hilda’s response was suspiciously quick, a blush rising on her cheeks as Ryan smirked at her. “They just…they can be naïve at times. They’re so eager to help people they can sometimes overlook the risks.”

“They just think a little differently from you or me.” Ryan said softly, mouth turning up into a wistful smile. “You’d be surprised by the things these guys come up with if you just sat and had a conversation with them.”

“Don’t lecture me on how I treat my teammates.”

“A good first step would be referring to them as friends rather than teammates.” Ryan pointed out and the blush returned to Hilda’s cheeks. She looked away and the office once again filled with silence. Ryan didn’t return to his work, focusing his attention on Hilda as he felt that she still had something she wanted to say.

“You seriously won’t hurt Ray?” She finally asked, voice quiet as she looked back at him.

“Intentionally?” He made clear. “No, I swear on my life.”

“I’m going to be watching you.” Hilda warned.

“No monitoring equipment. Ray and I value privacy.”

“One camera in your apartment.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Weekly reports.”

“You want me to report on my relationship?” Ryan questioned. “What part of privacy don’t you understand?”

“Alright, alright fine.” Hilda settled. “Just promise you’ll make him happy.” That put a smile on Ryan’s face.

“Of course.” He answered with a nod. Hilda gave a small smile back.

“Thank you.”

Ryan turned back to his work and Hilda loitered for a moment, glancing around at the office before deciding she was beginning to overstay her welcome, regardless of the fact that she hadn’t exactly been welcomed there to begin with. She turned to leave but stopped and turned back around at the sound of Ryan’s voice.

“So…” He spoke as he tapped his pen on the desk. “You’ve been working on your chemical engineering?” He acknowledged referring to the compound that had been slipped into his drink. “Impressive…aside from the whole drugging me thing.” Hilda tilted her head, giving him a thoughtful look.

“I have some more ideas drawn up…” She told him. “If you’d like to see them.”

The excited grin on her CEO’s face almost made her forget she was talking with the enemy.

Almost.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the last plot driven chapter of this fic. I'll be uploading a short little epilogue thing at some point (the semester started so who knows when) and that will be it.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter but this is really just..a wrap up? I wanted to tie up loose ends, show you where the story kind of leaves off and where I saw the group dynamics heading without having this finalized ending so the plot can go wherever you want to take it. 
> 
> I'm sorry it took a while but I was sort of struggling with it a bit. As I was writing I started thinking about all the ideas I could have put in here, all the directions it could have gone and I just didn't want to end it. But I'm happy with this ending, this is where I saw the story going and while there are scenes and situations bouncing around in my head, they would have been too out of place and better suited to be one-shots or something.
> 
> So this is where I leave you.

“Five.”

“Three.”

“But I need five.” Ryan argued. Ray readjusted his ear piece as Gavin let out a chuckle beside him.

“Do you _need_ five or do you _want_ five.” Gavin taunted.

“Vav, I will strangle you with your small intestine unless you shut your mouth.” Ryan warned, voice oddly calm despite the gruesome threat. Gavin let out a distressed noise beside him and Ray clucked his tongue.

“Oh no, shouldn’t have said that.” Ray spoke in a disapproving manner, like a parent scolding a child. “Now the offer’s down to two.”

Ray and Gavin stood side by side on the rooftop of their apartment decked in their super suits. Communication headsets were fixed in their ears, matching ones in Ryan’s ear from wherever in the city he had chosen to sit back and observe.

It had been a solid few months since the…incident. They didn’t really have a name for what happened, they didn’t like talking about it anyway. That’s not to say they didn’t acknowledge what had happened, as much as Ray thought that was a pretty nice plan in the beginning. Ignoring the past meant you were just doomed to repeat it.

“ _Rose_.” It was Ryan’s turn to sound distressed and Ray chuckled at hearing the normally composed adult complain like a teenager.

“Are we seriously discussing this right now?” Hilda cut in, safely stationed back at the lab.

“How about four?” Ryan ignored her and tried again.

“I’ll make you a deal.” Ray offered, a quiet ‘ _what the fuck X-Ray’_ coming from Hilda through the earpiece. “Three and you do the dishes tonight.”

“Deal.” The word like a nail driving into a coffin was the accent to three simultaneous explosions in different parts of the city. Ray and Gavin watched the smoke rise and heard the distant shouts of panicked citizens. Ryan was giggling through the earpiece, high off of the destruction he had created as he cooed about how beautiful the screams sounded.

They had a system now. It was easier for Ryan to keep the Mad King at bay when he was allowed another outlet for the mania. It took a bit of convincing for Hilda to come around but eventually they figured something out. Ryan would try his best to avoid casualties. All he really wanted was the panic and hysteria, bloodshed certainly wasn’t a necessity. Any sort of damage he caused would be taken care of by X-Ray and Vav. Hilda had developed direct communication lines so they could all listen in on one another during an episode.

“Doing the dishes was seriously worth an extra explosive?” Gavin asked, reaching down to power on the propulsion plates in his boots. Ray shrugged and began to do makeshift stretches as they awaited a status report from Hilda.

“Listen, it’s taco Tuesday and the dishes fucking pile up when we make tacos.” Ray reasoned. A quiet gasp of happiness came from Gavin as his eyes lit up.

“I forgot about the tacos.” The Brit said, voice giddy.

“Meg will be there.” Ryan reminded him through the earpiece, eliciting another squeak of glee from the hero. Gavin and Meg had thankfully kept seeing each other after what had happened, Ryan assuring Meg that the relationship was acceptable even in her position. But despite dating for so long, the mere mention of Meg would send Gavin into a love-struck trance.

Ray chuckled at his friend’s excitement as he touched a finger to his headset. “Hilda?”

“Alright so we’ve got disturbance reports from the golf course of the country club in west village.” The engineer began, the muffled typing of computer keys filtering in from the background. “A farm on the southern outskirts lost its fencing and now the livestock are roaming free. And a supermarket in city center has quite a few shaken shoppers.” Ray let out a tired sigh.

“Care to share your justifications?” He asked, the question directed towards Ryan.

“I hate golf and the cows deserve to wreak havoc.” He could practically hear the villain’s smile.

“And the supermarket?”

“I set it up when I was getting taco supplies.” A small laugh escaped Ray’s lips as he turned towards Gavin.

 “I’ll take west district. Vav, you take south and round up the cows and-”

“I’ll take city center.” A blurred form shot past their building on the streets below heading in the direction of the supermarket.

“Griffon?” Ray asked, surprised at the blonde hero’s sudden appearance. 

“Hello.” Griffon greeted cheerfully. She pulled up to the parking lot of the targeted supermarket, roller skates folding seamlessly into combat boots as she approached the crumbling building. Civilians ran past her to their cars, carts and shopping bags abandoned on the ground.

Griffon and Geoff had made good on the sit down talk that they had promised. A couple of days after the confrontation with Hilda, Ryan and Ray had sat side by side on the couch in Ryan’s apartment with Geoff pacing back and forth as Griffon calmly asked them question after question. Gavin had been there too, a silent presence off to the side observing and occasionally chiming in. The talk was mostly to make sure Ryan and Ray weren’t going to be stuck in any sort of cycle of abuse with one another. They loved each other, sure. But even people who love each other could hurt each other.

“How the hell did you get on this comm frequency?” Hilda asked, slightly offended that someone had managed to intercept what she had thought was a fairly secure line when she designed it.

“Don’t worry about that.” Griffon brushed off the question as she unhooked the handle of her chainsaw from her belt, plates and teeth shifting out and clicking together to form her massive weapon. She swung it with a practiced grace to slice cleanly through a support beam blocking the entrance and made her way inside. “Now, did I hear something about tacos?”

“Taco Tuesday!” Gavin chirped happily. X-Ray and Vav departed from the rooftop, going their separate ways as they jumped from building to building with ease thanks to Hilda’s newest propulsion modifications to their boots.

“Hell yeah, we’re inviting ourselves over.” Griffon declared, helping disoriented shoppers off of the floor and directing them towards the entrance.

“I already told him.”

“Geoff?” All three heroes exclaimed simultaneously at the sound of the corporate leader entering the communication stream. Ray paused on the roof he just jumped onto and looked up in time to see Geoff fly past him from above, dark green suit shining in the midday sun.

“Hey.” The villain greeted, flying over to hover above Ryan. The gents observed the city’s panic from their spot on top of the city’s largest sky scraper.

“Geoff was bored.” Ryan offered in explanation.

“Paperwork fucking sucks man.” Geoff complained, reaching up to his yellow tactical visor to focus in on Ray as he jumped across rooftops before moving to watch his wife as she guided civilians to their cars. “I need to let out some steam too.”

The supposedly retired hero and villain had become surprisingly protective of Ray and Ryan. The Ramseys usually oversaw the little episodes Ryan was allotted like this one but it wasn’t often they made their presence known, let alone became involved in the process.

 “You don’t turn into a bloody psychopath without one or two weekly explosions though.” Gavin pointed out. The lad finally reached the southern outskirts, greeted by a flustered farmer and his workers as they ran around trying to herd in the escaped cows. Gavin began slowing the animals down one by one with his gloves, giving the farmhands enough time to tether them to supports while a makeshift fence was built.

“But I’m booooooored.” Geoff drawled out. “And now I’m craving tacos.” The villain scanned the area for a moment before abandoning his place above Ryan and flying down to the storefronts below.

“We’re negotiating with criminals and talking about tacos.” Hilda murmured in disbelief, cradling her head in her hands. Ray laughed at how puzzled she sounded. “How is this my life?”

“Hey, what’s-her-face?” Hilda let out a sigh.

“What is it Haywood?” She asked, voice tired but mostly free of malice. Thankfully she’d moved past calling Ryan by his villain alias all the time but she wasn’t quite comfortable calling him by his first name yet. It was too personal for her so she just stuck with the last name, even though it often drew looks from fellow researchers when she threw around such an informal title for their CEO.

“Do you enjoy tacos?” Hilda blinked as her mind processed what he was asking her.

“Yeah, Hilda you should come tonight!” Gavin called out. The cows were finally all tethered so the lad had moved on to helping build a new fence. The farmhands shot him questioning glances for his sudden outburst but quickly understood when they spotted the headset in his ear.

“I…wait, seriously?” Hilda was still trying to grasp the fact that she was being invited to have dinner with her boss. To have _tacos_ with her boss. Seriously, what had her life become.

“Yeah, it’ll be great.” Ray promised. Arriving at the golf course he found the biggest problem would be welding broken pipes. The irrigation system that ran along the course beneath the dirt bringing water to the sprinklers and ornate fountains was currently flooded grounds. Or maybe the biggest problem would be ignoring the grumpy patrons of the country club complaining about their course being under water.

“Uh, sure.” Hilda accepted after a moment, still a bit hesitant. But other people would be there including Ray and Gavin, it couldn’t be that bad.

“Bring your robot.” Ryan ordered. The villain had taken his own set of high powered binoculars out and was watching Ray as the hero worked to weld pipes shut with his x-ray specs.

“ _Why_?” Hilda was immediately defensive, immediately distrusting with anything involving ORF and Ryan. Old habits die hard after all.

“So EDGAR can have a friend.” Ryan explained cheerfully.

“Who the fuck is-”

“Geoff, I can see you from here.” Griffon snapped, interrupting Hilda. “Stop robbing that liquor store.” Geoff froze on the street, bottles clutched tightly in his hands as he looked around for signs of his wife.

“But I grabbed wine for tonight.” He argued, shooting up into the air and flying back towards Ryan. “I was being a polite guest.”

“I clearly saw two bottles of scotch in your hands.”

“No you didn’t.”

 

* * *

 

Hours later Ray found himself in Ryan’s kitchen full of a people fighting over taco ingredients and arguing about the current topic of the night—it was vigilantism—and he would honestly say he couldn’t be happier in that moment. It was hard to believe that a few months ago it had seemed like the whole world was pushing in around him, like walls closing in. He could have lost so much.

Ryan.

Hilda.

Maybe even Gavin if that boy hadn’t been the saint that he was. Speak of the devil, Ray watched as the Brit glanced up briefly from his conversation with Meg to look at his partner. Meg’s hair was a dark brown now, curling around her petite face as she laughed, and Ryan had poked fun that she did it to match Gavin. Ray and Gavin looked at each other for a moment, a smile on each of their faces as they shared a silent conversation between them. A conversation that could really be summarized as “ _How did we get so lucky?”_

Not everything had been immediately fixed after the incident, that much was clear. For a while Ryan refused to touch Ray in any manner more than innocent for fear of triggering something. For a while Ray had nightmares of losing Ryan to the Mad King taking over completely. And for a while the people around them were left to watch as the hero and the villain tried to rebuild what had been broken.

But they were getting there.

Days like this helped. Wake up in the morning, usually with Ryan by his side, before they go their separate ways. Ray and Gavin usually patrolled the city while Ryan…well Ryan sort of had a company to run so he would go and do that. Occasionally Ryan would bring up a weapon he wanted to test or a building he wanted to detonate and X-Ray and Vav, with help from Hilda of course, would make plans to clean up the damage. By nightfall everyone would have fallen back into their civilian ways. They’d have dinner, go on double or triple dates, or just stay at home and play mindless videogames. By all means it wasn’t the most normal life but Ray wouldn’t give it up for anything.

Gavin winked before returning to his conversation with Meg. Ray looked up at Ryan as he felt the arm around his waist tighten. The villain was smiling down at him and Ray grinned back, blushing when Ryan dropped a kiss to the top of his head. Ryan turned back to Griffon who was standing on his other side attempting to facilitate conversation between ORF and EDGAR.

Ryan’s AI was displayed on the screen set up in his kitchen, visual equalizers moving up and down as it spoke. ORF hovered in front of the screen, buzzing about with a digital smile and asking the AI enthusiastic questions. Two robots talking to each other, each with free range to massive databases of information, occasionally brought up inexplicable subjects so that’s where Griffon and Ryan came in. The two would pipe up to either explain away a topic as “comprehensible for humans only” or order away the thought altogether.

Ray looked around the kitchen until his eyes landed on Hilda who was currently trapped in a conversation with Geoff. The man was gesturing wildly with his arms, pointing back and forth between his watch and ORF. Ray could hear him praising ORF from across the kitchen, gushing about the robot and complaining about how Ryan refused to create an AI for him. The hero remembered Geoff had mentioned wanting to install some kind of AI interface in his suit but couldn’t quite get the coding right. Hilda was blushing from the praise, partially hiding her face behind a bottle of beer in her hands. She looked up to catch Ray watching and immediately widened her eyes in a silent plea for help. Ray chuckled and shook his head at her, watching as the engineer groaned and turned to give Geoff a weak smile.

Ray let out a sigh and felt his eyes slip shut for a second as the sounds of his friends enveloped him, cheerful voices drowning out any other thought. The weight of Ryan’s arm around his waist grounded him as he just stopped and took in the moment.

 _Oh yes_.

He could get used to this.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And one final note, I just wanted to say writing this story made me realize how much I honestly love to be a part of this community. The support and feedback I got for this, not to mention the amazing artwork people have done for it, has been absolutely amazing. I totally welcome things like that, or if you'd like to write other fics inspired by this one then feel free, I'd love to see it. If you send it to my tumblr I tag it as "#story: genghis khan" or if you'd just like to drop by and chat my ask box is always open. So...yeah.
> 
> Thank you.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think with a kudos or a comment or feel free to send an ask to my tumblr: http://madqueenreigns.tumblr.com/


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